Utah claw
n.— «“It was often used in reference to something I came to refer to as the “stiffened frontal bang facade,” a hair tierra set in place with blow drier, hair spray and teasing comb. The heights these can sometimes reach is quite ridiculous.”…”I grew up in an area of West Virginia where such hairstyles are quite popular. We always used to refer to the tall, teased bangs as ‘joke-catchers’ (kept the joke from going over one’s head). A friend from Idaho whom I met in college informed me that her circle of high school friends had dubbed the style of bangs the ‘Utah Claw.’”» —“Re: “Bad Hair Day”” by apowell@liberty.uc.wlu.edu (April N. Powell) Usenet: alt.usage.english Mar. 7, 1994. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
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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...