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bend it like Beckham

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

WOTD – 2 May 2025

Etymology

The English footballer David Beckham.

From bend + it + like + Beckham, referring to the skill of the English footballer David Beckham (born 1975) in kicking a football with a curling shot. The term was popularized by the title of the film Bend It Like Beckham (2002).

Pronunciation

Verb

bend it like Beckham (third-person singular simple present bends it like Beckham, present participle bending it like Beckham, simple past and past participle bent it like Beckham)

  1. (intransitive, soccer) To kick a football (soccer ball), especially during a free kick, in a manner which causes it to move in a curve rather than in a straight line.
    • 2002, Jenny Oldfield, “Saturday, May 26th”, in My Little Life: When Shah Went Weird, London: Hodder Children’s Books, Hodder Headline, →ISBN, page 37:
      Bud [a dog] harried the ball across the garden. He dribbled it with his nose, bending it like Beckham.
    • 2002, John [Peter] Sugden, “Five Past One, September 2001”, in Scum Airways: Inside Football’s Underground Economy, Edinburgh; London: Mainstream Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 177:
      The whole of England held its breath as [David] Beckham stepped back, looked up, paused, and, well, bent it like Beckham into the top corner. The nation's roofs lifted off. […] I too leapt into the air and jumped for joy when Beckham's shot hit the back of the net.
    • 2007, Donald T. Kirkendall, William E. Garrett Jr., “Introduction”, in The Complete Guide to Soccer Fitness & Injury Prevention: A Handbook for Players, Parents, and Coaches, Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, →ISBN, page 18:
      David Beckham, for example, is known for his free kicks. After team training, he practices free kick after free kick after free kick—just him, the ball, goal, and a movable wall. He practices well after his teammates have showered and left the ground. Like the movie title says, "Nobody bends it like Beckham" (though the Brazilians might debate that statement). That kind of skill is not genetic; it is from deliberate practice and a lot of it.
    • 2018 July 12, Jamie Redknapp, “How Kieran Trippier bent it like Beckham to score England’s brilliant World Cup opener against Croatia”, in Daily Mail‎[1], London: DMG Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2025-03-31:
      How Kieran Trippier bent it like Beckham to score England's brilliant World Cup opener against Croatia [title] […] That was an old school free-kick from Kieran Trippier, straight out of the David Beckham playbook. His aim is to get as much whip and dip on the ball as possible. Trippier addresses the side of the ball, plants his left foot alongside it and his right takes care of the rest. The way he wraps his foot around the ball generates a top-spin effect, like a sweetly struck forehand from Rafael Nadal.
    • 2021, Jean Gill, “Examining Gravel and Live-heading Roses”, in True Colours: Six Books Drawn from Life […], [United States]: The 13th Sign, →ISBN:
      Not even a Chinese philosopher can meditate endlessly on gravel so we get the ball next. After a spell of bending it like Beckham, dribbling around two hot Pyreneans who have seen it all before, we take position at opposite sides of a plastic sunlounger, tilted to optimal ball-slide angle.
    • 2024 April 7, Jonathan Chadwick, “How to bend it like Beckham: Scientists reveal the formula for a winning football match – and why players should NEVER aim for the centre in penalties”, in Daily Mail‎[2], London: DMG Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2025-03-04:
      England's David Beckham and Brazil's Roberto Carlos were purveoyrs of the so-called ‘banana kick’ – where the ball curves outrageously to deceive the goalkeeper. Being able to ‘bend it like Beckham’ is a case of adding rotation to the ball as it moves, which can be done by kicking it off-centre.
    • 2025 March 24, David Hytner, “World Cup 2026 qualifiers: Reece James bends it like Beckham to help England break down Latvia”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎[3], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2025-03-25:
      Reece James bends it like Beckham to help England break down Latvia [title] […] There had been a lovely moment towards the end of the first half, Reece James curling home a stunning 25-yard free-kick. It was his first start for England since September 2022, and his first international goal, too.

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