clutch artist

English

Pronunciation

Audio (General Australian): (file)

Noun

clutch artist (plural clutch artists)

(idiomatic) A person who drives a motor vehicle, especially one equipped with a manual transmission, in a particularly skillful manner.^[1]
- 1969, Hot Rod, volume 22, page 103:
  [O]n the highway or merely playing around a good dirt track, the engine exhibits loads of good low rmp torque and flexibility from scratch, but sink those tires in sand and you've got to be a real clutch artist.
- 2006 January 25, Douglas E. Emerson, “On a personal note”, in douglasemerson.com, retrieved 3 March 2015:
  If you can drive a manual transmission, you have to be a clutch artist to handle brake, accelerator and clutch on an uphill start.
- 2013 May 5, EEMDRG, "Twin Turbos, Twice the Fun!," Drag Racer (retrieved 3 March 2015):
  Donnie’s used to finessing race cars, he was the clutch artist on Larry Miersch’s Huntington Beach, California-based A/Fuel dragster for five years.
(idiomatic, sports) A player who performs especially well in crucial situations.
- 1956 October 28, Dave Campbell, “Trib classic: Baylor's 1st top-10 showdown”, in Waco Herald-Tribune, retrieved 3 March 2015:
  Roddy Osborne had set up the score with a 32-yard pass to "clutch artist" Don Watson.
- 2013 February 15, Josh Hill, “NBA Rising Stars Challenge 2013: Team Chuck Or Team Shaq?”, in Fansided, retrieved 3 March 2015:
  Shaq has perhaps the next great point guard in the NBA in Cleveland Cavaliers clutch artist Kyrie Irving.
- 2014 June 3, Rob Winn, “Decisions Await The Blackhawks This Offseason”, in Chicagoist, retrieved 3 March 2015:
  The Chicago Blackhawks . . . will have a slew of decisions to make and contracts to sign. . . . [T]eam captain Jonathan Toews and designated clutch artist Patrick Kane need extensions.
- 2015 January 10, “How Many NBA Playoff Spots Are Still Up for Grabs?”, in yackityyacksports.com, retrieved 3 March 2015:
  Joe Johnson is still a fourth-quarter clutch artist.

References

^ See "Clutch, in the" at The Word Detective (Oct. 7, 2008): At present, the only positive use of “clutch” I can find is the term “clutch artist,” a fairly rare term for a truck driver (referring to expertise with the “clutch” pedal).

[1] See "Clutch, in the" at The Word Detective (Oct. 7, 2008): At present, the only positive use of “clutch” I can find is the term “clutch artist,” a fairly rare term for a truck driver (referring to expertise with the “clutch” pedal).

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