spin
v.— «Agents often make early commitments to more than one horse in a race, figuring that the field will thin out by the time post positions are drawn. But if both horses enter, one of the trainers will be jilted. Jockeys also can back out of a commitment if they get an offer to ride a better horse in another race or at another track. Conversely, trainers sometimes promise a mount to a jockey and then dump him at the last minute for someone else. Those practices, called “spinning,” create a daily litany of hard feelings, broken hearts and promises of revenge.» —“On the right track” by Rachel Blount Star-Tribune (Minneapolis, Minn.) Aug. 20, 1999. (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...