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
Advice about college essays from the winner of a top prize for children’s literature: Kelly Barnhill encourages teens to write about experiences that are uniquely their own, from a point of view that is theirs and no one else’s. Plus, why do we say...
While compiling the Oxford English Dictionary, lexicographer James Murray exchanged hundreds of letters a week with authors, advisors, and volunteer researchers. A new collection online lets you eavesdrop on discussions about which words should be...