perfect cannonball
- noun
:
salto perfecto
- What if you have children... try to help them with their homework, you can't see their smiles, you can't grill out for their birthdays, you can't see their smiles light up as they try to pull off the coveted "perfect cannonball" into the pool or the tears from their first heartbreak.
Examples
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At the swimming competition, she executed a flawless perfect cannonball that amazed the judges and earned her top scores.
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He practiced all summer long so he could finally achieve the legendary perfect cannonball when he dove into the water.
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The children cheered as their friend made a stunning perfect cannonball, creating a huge splash in the pool.
Antonyms
How Skillful
- Informal
1
3.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward adjective + noun composition: 'perfect' meaning ideal modifies 'cannonball' (a type of dive), so the overall sense 'an exemplary cannonball dive' is directly derivable from the parts. This follows a common, cross-linguistic modification pattern that a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily understand.
Etymology
The phrase perfect cannonball comes from the idea of curling the body into a tight round shape like a cannonball before jumping into the water. A 'perfect cannonball' is a very neat, round 'dive' that makes a big 'splash' and shows skill, so the name helps you remember its meaning.