yips
n.— «Putting always was hard, if not impossible, for Moody, who spent 14 years in the armed services. He had trouble with three-footers. He seldom had a clue on anything longer than six feet. He had what they call the “yips.”…If you’re a golfer and you have the “yips,” you don’t have to be told what they are. You also don’t have to be told you’re in trouble.» —“Moody a Winner On Seniors Tour Moody Finds New Life on Seniors Tour” by Jim Lassiter Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City) June 15, 1984. (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...