Gaming
dime
What does dime mean?
An assist — a pass that leads directly to a teammate scoring. A 'dime' implies a particularly clean or clever feed.
"He dropped a no-look dime to the cutter for the layup."
Origin
American basketball slang for an assist, possibly from 'dropping a dime' (an old phrase for making a precise phone call). It became standard hoop vocabulary by the 1980s-90s.
Frequently asked questions
What does 'dime' mean in basketball?
A dime is a perfect assist, a pass placed so well it leads straight to an easy basket. To 'drop a dime' is to deliver one.
Why is an assist called a dime?
It likely comes from the old phrase 'drop a dime,' meaning to make a precise phone call. In hoops it became a precise pass.
Is a dime the same as an assist?
Basically, but 'dime' emphasizes how clean and pretty the pass was, not just that it counted as an assist.
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