Less than one’s best, in sports lingo Crossword Clue

 The answer to the crossword clue "Less than one's best, in sports lingo" is phoning it in. This is a slang term that means to do something without putting in your full effort. It is often used in sports to describe a player who is not playing to their full potential.

The phrase "phoning it in" is thought to have originated in the early 1900s, when telephone operators would sometimes answer calls while they were doing other things, such as eating or reading. This gave the impression that they were not really paying attention to the caller.

The phrase came to be used in sports in the 1970s, when it was used to describe players who were not giving their all. The term has since become a common way to describe any kind of subpar performance.

Here is an example of how the phrase "phoning it in" can be used in a sentence:

The quarterback was phoning it in today, and it showed. He threw two interceptions and lost a fumble.

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