taper
n.— «I wanted to come back here and start my “taper,” because I particularly like how my mother “tapers” me.…After beating yourself up in the water, you need to get rid of all of the lactic acid and stuff that has built up in your system for the last six months or year.» —“Swimmers make big splash in Texas” by Colin O’Connor Royal Gazette (Bermuda) July 17, 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...