walk-on girl

English

WOTD – 13 January 2019

Pronunciation

English professional darts player Michael Smith and a walk-on girl at the 2017 German Darts Grand Prix in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌwɔːk ɒn ˈɡɜːl/
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˌwɔk ɑn ˈɡɝl/
(Canada) IPA^(key): /ˌwɑk ɑn ˈɡɝl/
Audio (AU) (file)
Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)l

Noun

walk-on girl (plural walk-on girls)

(darts) A woman who escorts a player to the stage at a darts event.
- 2010, Paul Siegel, chapter 7, in 2008: The Year in Darts, [Bloomington, Ind.]: Xlibris, →ISBN, page 39:
  Again anticipating opportunity, Tommy Cox jets to Alaska and books Sarah Palin to be a walk-on girl at the 2009 Desert Classic final.
- 2012, Mark Wollacott, “Blank Jack (Teaser)”, in 108 Breaths, Circencester, Gloustershire: Wyrd Works, →ISBN, page 112:
  His then girlfriend, Bernice Grey was a minor model turned darts walk-on girl. Jack's checklist-life could not have got much better compared to his childhood ambitions.
- 2017, King Adz, “Continental Darts”, in Fear and Loathing on the Oche: A Gonzo Journey through the World of Championship Darts, London: Yellow Jersey Press, →ISBN:
  The rah-rah girls dancing onstage were shaking their thing as Phil wobbled his way down the runway flanked by a Dutch walk-on girl dressed like a Thunderbirds pilot, all enhancements bouncing to the Eurobeat, as the surgeon intended. Then it was Mike's turn. His girl was dressed in a lime-green minidress and fat gold rope chain (subconsciously channelling Run DMC), which wasn't the only plastic on show. Neither walk-on girls I recognise. They must be the continental ones.
- 2017, Matthew E. Pointon, “Holy Mass”, in Short Stories Volume 2 (2006–2010), [Morrisville, N.C.]: Lulu, →ISBN, page 179:
  Flanked by a minder and a walk-on girl he strode down the walkway, hands in prayer, eyes turned heavenward.
- 2018 January 27, “Darts: PDC to Scrap Walk-on Girls after Broadcaster Talks”, in BBC Sport‎, archived from the original on 21 June 2018:
  Walk-on girls will no longer be used by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) after talks with broadcasters. The long-established practice of women escorting male players to the stage will be abandoned, starting with this weekend's Masters in Milton Keynes. […] But walk-on girl Charlotte Wood, who says darts accounts for 60 per cent of her income, says her rights "are being taken away". […] The Women's Sport Trust tweeted: "We applaud the Professional Darts Corporation moving with the times and deciding to no longer use walk-on-girls. Motor racing, boxing and cycling … your move."

Coordinate terms

(motor racing): brolly dolly, grid girl, pit babe, race queen

Translations

woman who escorts a player to the stage at a darts event