End run
Introduction

[A run around [right end](/wiki/Offensive_end "Offensive end")\|thumb](/wiki/File:Yost_tackle_over_lhb.jpg "Yost tackle over lhb.jpg")
In [gridiron football](/wiki/Gridiron_football "Gridiron football"), an **end run** is a running play in which the player carrying the ball tries to avoid being [tackled](/wiki/Tackle_%28football_move%29 "Tackle (football move)") by running outside the end (or flank) of the [offensive line](/wiki/Offensive_line "Offensive line"). It is distinct from a [dive](/wiki/Dive_%28American_football%29 "Dive (American football)"), which is a run "up the middle", or an [off\-tackle run](/wiki/Off-tackle_run "Off-tackle run"), which is a run through the inside gap created by the [offensive tackle](/wiki/Offensive_tackle "Offensive tackle"). Most [option offenses](/wiki/Option_offense "Option offense") are based on the end run.[*Defensive Football Strategies*, pg. 132](https://books.google.com/books?id=8hpvdraEnv0C&pg=PA132)

Colloquially, and in a metaphorical sense it has come to mean an attempt to avoid a difficult situation by dodging it without confronting it directly, or to attempt to circumvent someone's authority by appealing to a different authority. ("An end run around Congress.") For example, in *[Star Trek: The Next Generation](/wiki/Star_Trek:The_Next_Generation "The Next Generation")*, a character states: "You need to take it to the Captain, fine – through me. You do an end run around me again, I'll snap you back so hard you'll think you're a first\-year cadet again."[IMDb \- "Star Trek: The Next Generation" The Best of Both Worlds: Part 1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708785/quotes) \- ("You need to take it to the Captain, fine \- through me. You do an end run around me again, I'll snap you back so hard you'll think you're a first\-year cadet again.")


In what context can 'an end run around' be used metaphorically?