flying mare

9.9

A wrestling move that throws an opponent over your shoulder with a quick twist

noun

Jargon

: mare voladora

The wrestler won the match with a perfect flying mare that took his opponent by surprise.

Examples

She practiced the flying mare repeatedly to improve her technique before the competition.
Did you see that flying mare he pulled off?
A swift flying mare can change the momentum of a wrestling bout in seconds.
He executed a perfect flying mare during the match.
The wrestler won the match with a perfect flying mare that took his opponent by surprise.
She practiced the flying mare repeatedly to improve her technique before the competition.
A swift flying mare can change the momentum of a wrestling bout in seconds.

Surface Forms

flying mare singular

flying mares plural

Morphology

flying + mare

Although 'flying' conveys motion, the constituent 'mare' (commonly 'female horse' or here undocumented) gives no clear clue to a wrestling throw; the compound refers to a specific technical manoeuvre rather than a literal flying horse. This sport-specific, conventional term is not predictably derivable from its parts, so a B1 learner who knows the words would not reliably infer the meaning.

Etymology

The wrestling move flying mare may come from the image of mare, the word for a female horse, and flying, because the opponent is thrown so they seem to fly over the thrower's shoulder. That's why flying mare today means 'a throw that flips an opponent over with a sudden twist'.