spread eagle
- noun
- Jargon
- During her performance, she included a stunning spread eagle that highlighted her skill.
Examples
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The skater executed a flawless spread eagle in front of the cheering crowd.
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They're very close going into the first aerial, and that's a beautiful spread eagle by Beth.
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She did the spread eagle every time she skated.
Fiction book (1996) -
She was queen of the ice, and after we saw her, we practiced our spread eagles and our salchows.
Fiction book (1996) -
After perfecting the spread eagle, he gained the judges' praise for his technique.
Synonyms
A jump with arms and legs stretched out to the sides like an eagle
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun meaning is directly compositional: a 'spread eagle' denotes an eagle that is spread out (wings and legs extended), which can be derived from knowing 'spread' and 'eagle'. This literal, image-based composition follows regular descriptive patterns and is likely understandable to a B1 learner familiar with both words.
Etymology
Spread eagle. The noun spread eagle for a skating move comes from the picture of an eagle with wings spread. A skater makes the same wide shape with their legs and body on the ice, so the name means that move.