To Iceberg Slim and his contemporaries, this was a jivespeak verb that meant 'to rob'.

For the cops, this is a type of operation in which crooks are caught by tricking them into doing something illegal in the presence of undercover cops.

A childhood game.

Equipment:
One tennis or other bouncy ball.
One wall with no windows.

Gameplay:
Players throw the ball at the wall, and then someone catches it and throws it back at the wall.
Eventually somone will touch the ball with some part of their body but fail to catch it. They then have to run and touch the wall while the other players attempt to hit them with the ball. When they reach the wall they are safe.

Depending on how it is being played, someone who is hit can be out, or they may have 3 "lives" or they may just keep playing.

Butts Up:

Various offenses (agreed on at the beginning of the game) earn the offender a "Butts Up". He must stand facing the wall with his hands on the back of his head. Someone throws the ball at him.

Offenses that get a Butts Up can include:

Throwing the ball and not hitting the wall.
Touching the ball twice without catching it.
Missing when throwing at someone else who is Butts Up

Non Violent Version
If you don't want to throw balls at people, you can play Off the Wall where you have to throw the ball at the wall instead of the person, and there are no Butts Ups.

Sting is a professional wrestler.  His real name is Steve Borden, and he is from Venice Beach, California.

Borden was working as a private trainer at a Gold's Gym in California while also entering bodybuilding contests along with Jim Hellwig, who would later be known as the Ultimate Warrior.  The two were discovered and taught the basics of professional wrestling by Ric Bassman, and they soon started wrestling in some of California's independent leagues.  They first formed "Power Team USA" with two other wrestlers, which was notable only for having the future Sting and future Ultimate Warrior in it.  When the team dissolved in early 1986, Borden and Hellwig remained a team--they renamed themselves the Blade Runners, with Borden becoming "Blade Runner Flash" while Hellwig was "Blade Runner Rock".  Could I make this up if I tried?

Borden had moved on to the NWA by 1987; he was wrestling as Sting by this time.  He was almost immediately pushed into a main event feud with Ric Flair, who was the NWA World Champion at the time.  The two met at the first Clash of the Champions in March 1988, wrestling to a time limit draw.  He continued to feud with the rest of the Four Horsemen (of which Flair was the leader) for the next few months (or the next ten years, depending on how you look at it).

Sting won his first NWA World Title in June 1990, beating Ric Flair at Clash of the Champions XI in a terrific match.  He would go on to defend his title against Flair and Sid Vicious, among others, in the coming months.  He wouldn't drop the title until January 1991, when he lost the belt back to Flair.

(The NWA becomes WCW at this point)

One of Sting's best matches came in May 1991, when he and partner Lex Luger took on the Steiner Brothers for the WCW Tag Team Championship.  All four were babyfaces at the time, which always makes for an unorthodox match.  The Steiners retained the titles when Nikita Koloff interfered.

Later in 1991, Sting would be elevated to new hights by Cactus Jack, a new addition to WCW.  The two men would have a series of wild brawls that saw both men get insanely over with the crowd in the process.

Fast forward to 1996, when Scott Hall and Kevin Nash "invaded" WCW in what would be the kickoff to the amazing nWo angle.  Sting joined with Lex Luger and Randy Savage in challenging the Outsiders to a match at Bash at the Beach '96--the famous match where Hulk Hogan turned heel and formed the nWo with Hall and Nash.

After a bizzare and stupid "Fake Sting" angle which I can't even bring myself to type, Sting disappeared for a few weeks and re-emerged with a darker persona--similar to The Crow.  He wore black clothes with white facepaint and hung out in the rafters of the arena looking menacing a lot and randomly attacking the nWo.  He would use this gimmick for the remainder of his WCW run.

He didn't wrestle for much of 1997, just doing the aforementioned "hanging out in the rafters acting mysterious and foreboding" thing for months at a time.  This was because of WCW's ridiculous guaranteed contract system, which only required their bigger stars to wrestle a certain number of matches in order to get paid.  Sting had fulfilled his quota by September of 1996, and so he basically got paid for doing very little for the next year and there was nothing WCW could do about it.

His big return in late 1997 was a feud with Hulk Hogan, built around WCW's biggest show of the year--Starrcade.  Although common sense would suggest that your biggest babyface star should beat the hated heel from pillar to post and win the WCW World Title to blowoff the feud, but WCW has never had much common sense.  Sting did win the match, but only after being made to look extremely weak throughout the entire match.  This was a bigger screwjob than I've ever seen in any blowoff match, and I've seen most of them.  And, just as the nail in the coffin, the decision was overturned a week later and Hogan became champion again.

It was all downhill from there, as Sting would remain extremely popular--and would win the WCW World Title on a couple more occasions--but would never be able to stay in the main events for any significant length of time.

He stayed until the end, wrestling Ric Flair in the last match of the final taping of WCW Nitro on March 26, 2001, after which time WCW as a seperate entity ceased to be--the company had been bought out by the WWF the previous day.  Sting remained loyal to the end, wrestling for them for 12 years without ever going to another company no matter how bad the conditions within WCW were..  Even Ric Flair went to the WWF for a year in 1992.
 

Career Highlights

• NWA TV Champion
• NWA World Champion
• Winner of the Battle Bowl 1991
• 2 time WCW International Champion
• 2 time WCW US Champion
• 2 time WCW Tag Team Champion
• 6 time WCW World Champion

---

Fun Fact: Steve Borden owns the Sting trademark, not the musical Sting. Borden amicably lets him use it without putting up a fuss.

Gordon Matthew Sumner was born in Wallsend, Northumberland in 1951 to a clasically trained pianist and a milkman. From a very early age, he learned musical theory from his mother and developed a passion for jazz music that would propel him to the top of the music world. His natural drive and motivation kept him from pursuing promising careers in athletics and academia. He was a typical unruly teenager and was hopelessly dissatisfied with 3rd place at the National Junior Track Championship. This ambition and perfectionism would keep with him for his whole career, molding his music and alienating him from his bandmates. Gordon turned down an advanced piano scholarship and drifted for a few years. After trying his hand digging ditches and teaching English, Gordon realized his true calling and moved to London to pursue a career in music. While playing the bass guitar in an early band named Earthrise, Gordon habitually wore a yellow and black striped sweater which earned him the nickname Sting. It stuck. He would henceforth be known as Sting to friends and family. Gordon Sumner, the drifter from Northumberland who shed his Geordie accent to get ahead in the world, was left behind.

After playing for a popular underground London band named the Newcastle Big Band, Sting and three of his friends founded Last Exit. It was during this period that Sting met and married Frances Tomelty and they had their first child, Joe. Last Exit was not to last long however, once Stewart Copeland, an American drummer in need of a bass player, caught their act. He convinced Sting to give rock a chance and, together with guitarist Andy Summers, the Police was formed.

Their first hit, Roxanne, came off of their 1978 album Outlandos D'Amour. The Police's innovative mix of rock and reggae propelled Roxanne to the top of the charts with a little help from the BBC, who banned the song because it was a plea to a prostitute. The record sold in droves. The Police would release four more albums over the next five years, spawning such hits as Message In A Bottle, Don't Stand So Close To Me, and Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic. Sting's writing dominated the albums and he began to assume the role of a frontman for the group. Sting, Andy and Stewart's dynamic and explosive personalities caused more than a few memorable rows, but as their relationship became more and more strained, the band's creative energy, particularly Sting's, grew stronger. The band's final album, Synchronicity, one of the best rock albums of all time, was released in 1983. The Police were the biggest band in the world and they had released a superb album that would be all fans would have left of them following their breakup later that year. The Police played their final concert in 1986 at Giants Stadium for Amnesty International, literally passing their instruments and the title of biggest band in the world on to U2.

Sting released his first solo album in 1985, after assembling one of the world's most talented jazz bands, featuring Brandford Marsalis, Omar Hakim and Kenny Kirkland. Dream of the Blue Turtle's jazzy sound flew off the shelves and shortly went platinum. He followed up with the Grammy-winning The Soul Cages and Ten Summoner's Tales, both of which revealed an increasing genius for contemplative and beautiful songs. The Soul Cages was a very somber album, having been written while Sting was coping with the loss of his parents, especially his father who had died while he was working on it. In 1992, Sting remarried, having divorced his first wife in 1982 after having two children. He and Trudie Styler are still married and have four kids.

Sting's popularity experienced a resurgence in the late 90s with the release of his album Brand New Day, whose title song Sting performed live to ring in the new millennium. He has also performed at countless events such as the Super Bowl and the opening ceremony for the 2002 Winter Olympics at Salt Lake City and contributed songs to numerous soundtracks, including The Emperor's New Groove and The Thomas Crown Affair.

Sting has always been heavily involved in humanitarian causes, contributing generously to Amnesty International and the Rainforest Foundation. He also acts, having starred in a number of motion pictures such as Quadrophenia, Dune and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. He has received honorary degrees from Northumbria University in 1992, and from the Berklee College of Music in 1994.

Discography

The Police

• 1978 - Outlandos D'Amour
• 1979 - Reggatta de Blanc
• 1980 - Zenyattą Mondatta
• 1981 - Ghost in the Machine
• 1983 - Synchronicity

Sting (Solo)

• 1985 - The Dream Of The Blue Turtles
• 1986 - Bring On The Night
• 1987 - ...Nothing Like The Sun
• 1988 - Nada Como El Sol
• 1991 - The Soul Cages
• 1991 - Acoustic Live In Newcastle
• 1993 - Ten Summoner's Tales
• 1996 - Mercury Falling
• 1999 - Brand New Day
• 2001 - ...All This Time

Filmography

• 1979 - Quadrophenia
• 1980 - Radio On
• 1981 - Artemis 81
• 1982 - The Great Rock'n'Roll Swindle
• 1982 - The Secret Policeman's Other Ball
• 1982 - Brimstone and Treacle
• 1984 - Dune
• 1985 - The Bride
• 1985 - Plenty
• 1985 - Bring On The Night
• 1987 - Julia and Julia
• 1988 - Stormy Monday
• 1989 - The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
• 1989 - The 3 Penny Opera
• 1997 - The Grotesque
• 1998 - Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

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Sources:
http://www.sting.com/
http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/2832/
http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/5646/intro.html#minibio
http://ubl.artistdirect.com/music/artist/bio/0,,497732,00.html?artist=Sting

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Thanks to gripdamage for pointing out a couple omissions in the Discography

Sting was a well-forged blade made in Gondolin in the First Age, named by the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins. It shone with a blue light when orcs approached.

"It shone pale and dim before his eyes........It was rather splendid to be wearing a blade made in Gondolin for the goblin- wars of which so many songs had sung; and he also and also he had noticed that such weapons made a great impression on goblins that came upon them suddenly"
(The Hobbit)

Bilbo found it in a troll cave while on expedition with Thorin and Company after the three trolls had been tricked and turned to stone.

"..Bilbo took a knife in a leather sheath. It would have made only a tiny pocket- knife for a troll, but it was as good as a short sword for a hobbit ."
(The Hobbit)

It was also in this cave that Gandalf found Glamdring and Thorin Oakensheild found Orcrist. Bilbo named it after he had slain a giant spider in Mirkwood, this was his first kill and made him feel strong and brave, despite his empty stomach.

"Somehow the killing of the giant spider, all alone by himself in the dark without the help of the wizard or the dwarves or of anyone else, made a big difference to Mr. Baggins. He felt a different person, and much fiercer and bolder...."
(The Hobbit)

After the expiditon with Thorin and Company, many years later Bilbo gave Sting and a coat of mithril to Frodo in Rivendell, before he set out on his quest with the fellowship. He used it all along his quest, in Moria he stuck the Cave troll on the foot so it fled screaming. Later in Mordor, in the tower of Cirith Ungol, Frodo gave Sting to Sam, after Sam had seriously wounded Shelob, ultimately leading to her death.

Every Level 1 character's favorite artifact!

Hello Natalya! Welcome to Nethack. You are a chaotic female elven ranger.
#name
Name an individual object? [ynq] (q) y
What do you want to name? [a-f or ?*] a
What do you want to name this elven dagger? Sting
i
Weapons
a - the +1 Sting (weapon in hand)
...

Sting is somewhat useless as an artifact, but definitely is better than nothing for beginners. Its most important ability is that it detects orcs; When wielding Sting, you know where orcs are moving at the time.

Sting is an elven dagger, and has cost of 800 gp. It's a chaotic artifact. It has +d5 to-hit and x2 damage against orcs, orc mummies and orc zombies. It has the warning instrinct, specifically of orcs. It also cuts the webs. It can be present in bones files and may be generated randomly. Orcs (including player characters) cannot wield Sting; it will burn them.

It is one of the few artifacts that can be got by #naming a normal item, and can also be got from #offers and wished for. Of course, this is one of the most useless things your god can give to you and only a complete and utter newbie can wish for it! You probably should damn well find all #nameable artifacts before you start #offering stuff, and if you get a wish, get Mojo or Stormy or something instead of this...

But it is nice because some classes (like my elven ranger in the example) start with elven daggers - it's nice to threaten the Monsters right from turn one with your very own artifact weapon!

(Sources: Kevin Hugo's and Dylan O'Donnell's spoiler files.)

In the parlance of the con operator, the sting is the goal event of the confidence game. To form an analogy between the big game and a narrative, the sting is the climax of the story. However, like most good fiction, it is not typically the end.

While some will define it as the point at which the mark hands over his money to the players, it is more accurately described as the