On the April Word Fugitives page a soccer coach requested a word analogous to ambidextrous but having to do with feet. John Siddeek, of Grand Junction, Colorado, responded, "I, too, am a soccer coach, and each season I give an award to the player who is the best at using both feet. I have titled this at various times the Ambipedal Award, the Bipedal Award, the Amphibian Award, and the Ambipedarocious Award." Siddeek went on to make a point also made by a number of other readers. For instance, Philip L. Salgado, of Spokane, Washington, wrote, "The word ambidextrous makes no reference to the hand: ambi- 'both,' dexter 'right.' Could not ambidextrous be used by a soccer coach to describe the desired skill and perhaps teach a little language as well?"
Readers had fun coining the likes of switch kickers, bipedept, omnbootsman, bilegual, and gambidextrous. But as it turned out, a less inventive approach achieved the goal brilliantly, earning top honors for the fellow who suggested it. "There is in fact a very simple term that is used by all coaches, players, and fans in the UK," wrote Allan Sutherland, of Aberdeen, Scotland. "It is two-footed, as in 'He's a two-footed player,' which is not so much stating the obvious as describing the ability to use either foot equally well. Though I can think of no other pastime except perhaps flirting under restaurant tables which can benefit from this skill, I would like both to inform you that the term is standard in football and to suggest that it might be used for all foot activities."