spitball

[spit-bawl] /ˈspɪtˌbɔl/
noun
1.
a small ball or lump of chewed paper used as a missile.
2.
Also called spitter. Baseball. a pitch, now illegal, made to curve by moistening one side of the ball with saliva or perspiration.
Origin
1840-50, Americanism; spit1 + ball1
Word Origin and History for spitball
n.

1846 in the schoolboy sense; 1905 in the baseball sense, from spit + ball (n.1).

Slang definitions & phrases for spitball

spitball

noun
  1. A pitch thrown using a ball wetted with spit or otherwise illegally besmeared (1905+ Baseball)
  2. A nasty but feeble attack: despite the spitballs he keeps getting from the critical liberal media (1970s+)
verb

To speculate; propose conclusions or possibilities: Well, I'm just spit-balling/ You're just spit-balling (1955+)

[second noun and verb senses fr the mischievous schoolboy's vice of throwing bits of paper soaked in saliva; verb sense fr the notion of tossing such spitballs more or less idly]