Belter

A belter describes something that is excellent or splendid as in a belter of a game describing an excellent, exciting sporting contest of some kind. A belter when used to describe a cricket pitch is one that favours the batsmen. The word dates from the mid-20th century and its origin is thought to be Northern/Scottish dialect. In North America, a belter is more likely to be a singer with a powerful voice who ‘belts out’ a song. The singer Ethel Merman, for example, was frequently described in the American press as ‘a belter’.