Stonewall

Origin of: Stonewall

Stonewall

As a nickname, Stonewall was the name given to Confederate General Jackson who stood with his men like a stone wall, at the First Battle of Bull Run in 1861 during the American Civil War. The description of Jackson standing like an immovable stone wall appeared in Confederate newspapers within four days of the battle and no one knows for sure who coined it. In the late 19th century, stonewall was Australian political slang for deliberate Parliamentary obstruction and by the early 20th century, it had become a verb meaning to stall and then entered the vocabulary of cricket where a stone-waller was a batsman who played like he was a stone wall, persistently blocked the ball without scoring a run. In more recent years, it has entered football jargon as in a ‘stonewall penalty’ meaning a blatant or certain penalty. This is probably misuse, due to confusion with stone cold penalty, which is more correct. Stonewall penalty, however, has seemingly forced its way into football jargon and looks as if it is there to stay. See also cold as stone.