fifth stroke
n.— «“It helps when you have a good dolphin kick. It’s called undulation. It means you have good wave motion.” That wave motion has carried Kelly to the top of the state leaderboard in just about every stroke. “If you’re good at it, it can work for you,” Scharbat said. “They refer to it as the fifth stroke. It’s something the elite swimmers have. If you’re doing it just to do it, it won’t help.”» —“Margaret Kelly, a junior, is the latest star at Ann Arbor Pioneer” by Mick McCabe Detroit Free Press (Mich.) Nov. 12, 2004. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Sponsored in part by:
Dessert Stomach 05/14/2018: Funny cat videos and cute online photos inspire equally adorable slang terms we use to talk about them. • Also, when a salamander is not... [more]
Far Out, Man 04/30/2018: What other names could a team use if they realize it's time to give up calling themselves the "Redskins"? Also, what should we call those... [more]
Brollies and Bumbershoots 04/16/2018: If you think they refer to umbrellas as bumbershoots in the UK, think again. The word bumbershoot actually originated in the United States! In Britain,... [more]
Cool Your Soup 04/09/2018: According to Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe, it's important to master the basics of writing, but there comes a time when you have to strike out... [more]
Put on the Dog 04/02/2018: Why isn't "you're welcome" the default response to "thank you" for everyone? Plus lies that kids tell, Philadelphia lawyer, cowbelly, skutch, mind-bottling vs. mind-boggling, tsundoku,... [more]
You must log in to post a comment.