Setplay is a pretty clearly defined sports term that has probably been used for longer than fighting games even exist
It also has nothing to do with looping back into itself or being a "continuous series of mixups"
A corner kick ideally leads to a goal, not to "additional corner kicks which the opponent has to defend against all the time".
It just so happens that in FGs, set plays usually lead back into themselves (eg hard kd, setup, land another hit > combo into hard kd) or to death - but that's not part of the definition
If I land a hard KD, then whiff sLP, call low assist and do dashjump jMK .. I got an ambiguous setup on wakeup.
If I now just end my combo in a super, he didn't have to "guess over and over and over". It was still a setup.
Setplay is, simply put, doing setups. If you regularly say "Wow, that was a neat setup", then the player you're watching has strong setplay.
Oxford: "Set Play (Sport): A prearranged manoeuvre carried out from a restart by the team who have the advantage."
I'm not sure how it "sucks at conveying what it means".
The adjective "set" means, quoting the dictionary,
- adjective "set"
94. fixed or prescribed beforehand: "set rules"
96. deliberately composed; customary: "set phrases"
99. completely prepared; ready: "Is everyone set?"
- A "set play" is a "fixed/deliberately composed/completely prepared" course of action during a game.
In sports, this usually happens after something like a free kick, as it's difficult else to *really* prepare things (due to the natural fluctuation of where players are on the field and how they act)
In fighting games, this usually happens after something like a knockdown, but can also readily happen after "any" hit (as both characters are locked in a specific animation for a set amount of time after you connect with say a cLP)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_piece_(football)
"attacking players spend much time rehearsing them; set pieces are one area where tactics and routines can be worked out in training in advance of matches."
E: I'm sure Mike will be hyped when he sees 30 new notifications in this thread and then it's all some silly linguistic discussion