circus save
n.— «Particularly impressive was Sol Heligman, 130-pound goalie of the metropolitan outfit, who made a number of circus saves.» —“Mt. Washington’s Strong Attack Beats Princeton at Lacrosse, 8-3″ in Princeton, N.J. New York Times Apr. 4, 1937. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Understanding the varieties of conversational styles can mean the difference between feeling you’re understood and being insulted. “High-involvement” speakers interrupt or talk along with someone else to signal their enthusiasm...
Sigrin writes from Albany, New York, that she misheard our earlier conversation about the expression shaving yak hair meaning “performing a monotonous, tedious task.” At first she thought we said shaving gnat hair, which she figures is...