toe pick
n.— Note: From the name of the teeth on the front of an ice-skating blade. «Linebacker Lance Briggs was all smiles after the first 2-interception game of his NFL career, even when he discussed the second pick, when it looked as if he might score until he tripped. “That was what we like to call a ‘toe pick,’” Briggs said, laughing. “My toe got caught on the “ice,” and I fell. I don’t know what happened; I tripped—poor return on my part.”» —“Briggs comes up big” by Bob LeGere Daily Herald (Chicago, Illinois) Nov. 24, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
In the 15th century, the word respair meant “to have hope again.” Although this word fell out of use, it’s among dozens collected in a new book of soothing vocabulary for troubled times. Plus, baseball slang: If a batter...
Birds inhabit many English words and phrases. The flower called larkspur is named for the way its blossom resembles the spur on the toe of a lark. Columbine derives from Latin columba, “dove,” a reference to the way this flower resembles...