The American Football Huddle Was Invented to Hide Signs
To huddle is to gather closely together. In American football it began as a way of concealing signals from a deaf team's opponents.
To huddle is to gather closely together. American football's huddle has a specific origin: Gallaudet University, a college for deaf students, used sign language to call plays, and opposing teams with signing players could read them. Gathering in a tight circle hid the signs, and the practice spread through the sport.
- To gather closely. *Huddled together.*
- A tight group. *A team huddle.*
- A brief meeting. *A quick huddle before the call.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | huddle | Huddle round. |
| Past | huddled | They huddled. |
| Noun | huddle | A team huddle. |
| Plural | huddles | Frequent huddles. |
| Related | cuddle | A warm cuddle. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The players formed a huddle.Sport.
- They huddled against the wind.For warmth.
- Let us have a quick huddle.Office use: a short meeting.
Why animals huddle
- Heat conservation — reduces the surface area exposed to cold
- Emperor penguins — rotate positions so each bird takes a turn inside
- Bats and rodents — huddle to survive cold nights
- Energy saving — huddling can cut heat loss substantially
- Social bonding — the contact also strengthens group ties
Of uncertain origin, recorded from the sixteenth century, possibly from a Low German source. The football sense is American, from the 1890s.
Where did the football huddle come from?
From Gallaudet University, whose deaf players gathered tightly so opponents could not read their signed play calls.
Why do penguins huddle?
To conserve heat. Emperor penguins rotate through the group so that each bird spends time in the warmer centre.