Where does the term "tanking" come from?

[melbournemartin]

I don't want a debate about who's tanking etc.

I just want to know what the origins of the word are. Where does it come from?

 

[The Fireman]

it originated here

 

[melbournemartin]

I can think of earlier cases of tanking.

Anyway, any help?

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

Yep, you're right, Saints tanked long before the Blues.

Peter Rowsthorn hosts a little show on the ABC called Can We Help that has a segment on the history of words and phrases. Suggest you write to them.

 

[Plogs]

Yank term.
Owened in Australian football by the Carlton Football Club.

 

[sherb]

I just want to know what the origins of the word are. Where does it come from?

Good question, I find the origins of words and phrases to be really interesting. I had a quick look, and this term comes from boxing:
"Go In The Tank" - Boxing Slang. To go through the motions of a match but deliberately lose because of an illicit prearrangement or fix; throw a fight.

So presumably it comes from there. Although I don't then know how that term originated.

I don't want a debate about who's tanking etc.

You didn't really expect the usual morons here to respect this request did you?

 

[sherb]

Here's a bit more information:

http://www.word-detective.com/2008/12/03/in-the-tank/

 

[Jafa]

It's a boxing term.

 

[dan warna]

???

 

[melbournemartin]

Here's a bit more information:

http://www.word-detective.com/2008/12/03/in-the-tank/

Cheers mate. That's an interesting read. So basically, for those who can't be bothered reading the longish article, it refers to a boxer taking a dive into a "water tank" and the expression has grown from there.

 

[Monkey King]

Yank term.
Owened in Australian football by the Carlton Football Club.

You goose. IIRC Collingwood tanking for Pendles and Daisy were some of the earliest accuations. At that time most acknowledged Carlton were genuinely no better than last; a fact that is ever diminishing along with BF's average IQ.

St Kilda however are the original tankers and the fruits are on show this year.

 

[Durham Hawks]

it was used regularly in basketball in the race for le-bron james - which cleveland openly supported (the tanking) and "won" at the lottery.

however it was probably around in US sports way before 2003 or whenever that was.

 

[Beckers]

You goose. IIRC Collingwood tanking for Pendles and Daisy were some of the earliest accuations. At that time most acknowledged Carlton were genuinely no better than last; a fact that is ever diminishing along with BF's average IQ.

St Kilda however are the original tankers and the fruits are on show this year.

Carlton WERE tanking...as were Hawthorn in order to secure Roughy AND Franklin.

IMHO, any time a fan, coach or board of a club can smile at a loss is a TANK!

 

[ziad]

in carlton and melbournes case it is ryming slang

to be a tanker

 

[Herne Hill Hammer]

I remember it being used in tennis in the 80s. In particular early in the career of Sampras.

 

[Monkey King]

Carlton WERE tanking...as were Hawthorn in order to secure Roughy AND Franklin.

IMHO, any time a fan, coach or board of a club can smile at a loss is a TANK!

I didn't see Pagan smile too often after a loss in those days. To think Carlton were tanking in 2005 when the club was struggling with solvency issues is an idiocy almost beyond words.

The list was shit and worse than Melbourne's of this year. Just go and check out some of the teams that represented the Blues in those days to get some perspective. Most of those guys are no longer playing AFL for a reason.

 

[Big Blow Hard]

Further to some of the other answers and supporting it as a boxing term.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

It's long but it was all that I could find, and it sounds probable.

There is an old slang term “tank town,” or just “a tank,” which referred to one-horse towns or whistlestops, the kinds of places that don’t have much to remark upon except the town water tank or water tower. These are the kinds of places that boxers would fight on tours. These were not necessarily sanctioned bouts but perhaps a bit more orchestrated, where you might have the same boxers fighting eaach other week after week, in town after town, with the same predictable results, much like professional wresting is done today.
Related to “tank,” boxing has had several meanings of “to dive.” It can meaning being knocked to the canvas, or intentionally throwing a bout–letting yourself lose. The same for “flop”–besides meaning a knock-down, it could, as early as 1907, also mean to fake being knocked out or to throw a fight. (By 1919 “flop” was used by Variety to describe failures in Hollywood–it is highly likely that use comes from boxing.)
From those earlier “tanks,” it is highly likely that we get both “go into the tank” and “take a dive,” which show up in boxing in the 1930s. By the mid- to late 1930s, to do a “tank job” also meant “to take a dive”–that is, to throw a match. Even further, by the mid 1950s uses of “go into the water”–meaning “to tank”–show up.
As time has passed, “to go into the tank” or “to tank” has come to almost always mean to fail unintentionally, while “to take a dive” has come to almost always mean to fail intentionally.
Now, where does “to be in the tank for someone” come in? Judging from the evidence I have seen, it’s a simple outgrowth of the older forms. “To be in the tank” for someone means that you’re working on their behalf, usually with connotations of secrecy, backroom deals, and sly manipulation. Those are the same kind of devious acts which would characterize a boxer throwing a match on behalf of someone else.

Source(s):

 

[tropicaltiger]

the term tanking comes from motor racing

too have as little as possible in your fuel tank to minimize the cars weight.

 

[SirJimi05]

Yep, you're right, Saints tanked long before the Blues.

Peter Rowsthorn hosts a little show on the ABC called Can We Help that has a segment on the history of words and phrases. Suggest you write to them.

Why not just ask Bongo? He will have his answer in 1 minute.

 

[highflyer91]

the term tanking comes from motor racing

too have as little as possible in your fuel tank to minimize the cars weight.

and this relates to AFL's version of tanking how?