Australian crawl
1
4.6
- noun
- /əˈstrɔːliən krɔːl/
- Specialized
:
crol australiano
- To win the race, she decided to use the Australian crawl because it is the fastest swimming stroke.
Examples
-
The coach demonstrated the Australian crawl to the new swimmers during the practice session.
-
I just can't do the Australian crawl.
-
This is a foxtrot, not an Australian crawl.
-
The old Australian crawl
-
Sometimes it does, as predicted, with swimming, especially the Australian crawl, and also if I try to throw hard anything that's light, like a whiffle ball with my kids when they were younger.
Fiction book (2000) -
He trained hard to master the Australian crawl for the upcoming swimming competition.
Synonyms
4
4.7
A fast swimming stroke where you move one arm at a time and kick
1
3.7
A swimming stroke done face down where arms move alternately over the water and legs kick
How Fast
19
5.8
- Specialized
1
4.6
9
3.5
1
3.1
2
3.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward combination of the demonym 'Australian' and the noun 'crawl' (a swimming stroke), so a learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a variety of the crawl associated with Australia. This demonym + type naming pattern is cross-linguistically common and the meaning (a specific swimming stroke) is compositional rather than idiomatic, making it readily understandable to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Australian crawl comes from Australian swimmers who showed a new, fast way to swim with the arms moving one at a time and a quick leg kick. People said they were 'crawling' through the water, so the name stuck and now means the fast 'freestyle' stroke.