DEATHSPIRAL

Death spiral

Death spiral is a required element of pair skating performed with the man in a pivot position, one toe anchored in the ice. Holding his hand, the woman circles her partner on a deep edge with her body almost parallel to the ice. In 2011, the ISU introduced a requirement that the woman's head must at some time reach the level of her skating knee in order to receive a value. The man should be in a full pivot position, and the death spiral must be held for a minimum amount of rotation, depending on the level.

The above text is a snippet from Wikipedia: Death spiral (figure skating)
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

death spiral

Noun

  1. The downward, corkscrew-motion of a disabled aircraft which is unrecoverably headed for a crash.
  2. A manoeuvre in which a male skater spins in place while holding one hand of his female skating partner as she circles around him with one skate on the ice and one leg extended outward parallel to the ice surface, all the while slowly lowering herself until her back almost touches the ice surface.
  3. The situation or course of action of one who is on a path toward some sort of inevitable catastrophic failure.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: death spiral
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

Need help with a clue?
Try your search in the crossword dictionary!