dog bowl
n.— «First and foremost came the invention of wheels manufactured from urethane—”They’re made from oil!”—with the capacity to grip surfaces, allowing these kids to experiment with weaving in and out of traffic, gripping the roofs of cars, and, perhaps most importantly, the empty swimming pools, made possible by a serendipitous drought that plagued Southern California in the ‘70s. These otherwise unused cement ponds came to be referred to as “dog bowls” and the rebellious process by which this sport was perfected taps into the teenager in all of us.» —“Surfing on Cement” by Joe Birdsong Gay City News (New York City) June 2-8, 2005. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Imagine telling someone how to get to your home, but without using the name of your street, or any other street within ten miles. Could you do it? We take street names for granted, but these words are useful for far more, like applying for a job or...
Patrick in New York City is curious about the term ride or die, which describes a friend, fan, or romantic partner who is devoted to the end. The expression shows up in the mid-1990s in hip hop and the work of Tupac Shakur and The Lox, and often...