Drafting, breaking, offsides and more: What Olympic terms mean

Artistic swimming

• Context: Formerly a women-only event called synchronized swimming, artistic swimming now allows up to two men per country to compete in the team aquatic event that combines dance and gymnastic moves. (The duet competition is still women-only.)
• Between the lines: Despite the rule change, the U.S. still has an all-women team this year, and one of the sport's pioneers is noticeably absent from it: Bill May.

Breaking

• Context: New for this Olympics, breaking will have competitors called B-Boys and B-Girls showcase fast footwork and acrobatic moves — like windmills and freezes — in solo battles to music.
• Between the lines: Don't call it "breakdancing."

DD or difficulty score

• Context: DD stands for "degree of difficulty," a factor in an athlete's score for such sports as diving and gymnastics. The higher the Difficulty Score, the more points are on the table.
• Between the lines: Gymnast Simone Biles is known for doing the most difficult routines, which give her a baked-in scoring advantage.

Drafting

• Context: It's a strategy a swimmer or cyclist might use while they're behind their opponent, as a way to use fast water or wind resistance to their advantage.
• Between the lines: Jason Lezak likely benefited by drafting in the 2008 Beijing Games to help Team USA win a freestyle swim relay gold.

Foil

• Context: The name for the fencing event that uses the most flexible and lightest fencing weapon, which is also called a foil.
• Between the lines: In foil, a touch counts if it lands on an opponent's torso. "Why is fencing called foil" was a question with a lot of search interest in the U.S. during the Tokyo Olympics, according to Google Trends' Annanya Raghavan.

Goofy stance

• Context: In surfing and skateboarding, goofy footing describes leading with your right foot.
• Between the lines: Leading with the left foot is slightly more common in board sports — and is known as a regular stance. "What is goofy stance in skateboarding/surfing" were common search questions during the Tokyo Games.

Jump-off

• Context: If there's a tie for first place at the end of a round in a sport like equestrian, a jump-off, or extra round of competition, can be added.
• Between the lines: At the Tokyo Games, two high jumpers (and friends) decided to share gold instead of settle their tie with a jump-off.

Offsides

• Context: An offside call is made when an offensive player gets the ball in the attacking half of the field, but there aren't at least two defending players (goalie included) between that player and the goal.

• Between the lines: An offside call is a penalty and is meant to prevent players from lurking in the goal area to score. "Offsides" with the "s" is the way many sports fans say it — and was a term searched widely during the last Summer Games — even though the "s" isn't necessary.

Paralympian

• Context: It's what an athlete who has competed in the Paralympic Games — which begin Aug. 28 — is called. Note: Don't say "Para Olympian."
• Between the lines: A pro or amateur athlete with disabilities who plays a sport but hasn't competed in the Paralympics is called a Para athlete.

Steeplechase

• Context: This track event is different from most: It involves 28 barriers (which are larger than hurdles) and water jumps.
• Between the lines: "Steeplechase" is named after a horse event that also requires agility and strength, and it's a term that had lots of search interest during the Tokyo Games.

Go deeper: Last Summer Games, Biles taught fans about the gymnastic "twisties."