Meaning of bend it like Beckham | Babel Free

Definitions

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.

intransitive

Examples

“Bud [a dog] harried the ball across the garden. He dribbled it with his nose, bending it like Beckham.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

CEFR level