rubber arms
n.— «Experienced surfers have a term for those who appear to be trying a catch a wave but never do.…They’re called “rubber arms.” Rubber arms are surfers who turn to catch a wave, making all the paddling movements, but never really go anywhere. Surfers who are rubber arms don’t really want to drop in; the situation is much too intense. Many times, they experience some of the worst wipeouts. This is the price paid for not being fully committed and putting out a halfhearted effort.» —“Listening to your inner surfer” by Gary Warth North County Times (Escondido, California) Apr. 30, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
It was a dark and stormy night. So begins the long and increasingly convoluted prose of Edwards Bulwer-Lytton’s best-known novel. Today the annual Bulwer-Lytton Contest asks contestants for fanciful first sentences that are similarly...
The words tough, through, and dough all end in O-U-G-H. So why don’t they rhyme? A lively new book addresses the many quirks of English by explaining the history of words and phrases. And: have you ever been in a situation where a group makes...