to stick the landing
4
5.4
- idiom
- /stɪk ðə ˈlændɪŋ/
:
aterrizar bien
- The gymnast performed flawlessly and managed to stick the landing after her routine.
Examples
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You stuck the landing!
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I stuck the landing and did the bull dance.
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I could have stuck the landing a little better, it's just...
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- Way to stick the landing, kid.
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Did you stick the landing, little guy?
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Well, didn't exactly stick the landing, but that was good.
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Set up for the D-Spin and... stick the landing.
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Go left, then right, back handspring, stick the landing.
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Anyone who has ever watched gymnastics understands that it is important to "stick the landing."
Blog text (2) -
I stuck the landing!
Antonyms
How Smooth
4
5.4
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is partially derivable: 'landing' clearly refers to the descent, and 'stick' can be extended to mean 'adhere' or 'hold firm', so a learner might infer 'land and stay/hold position'. However, the specialized sports sense (to complete a maneuver smoothly and without error) is a metaphorical, conventionalized use that is not fully predictable from the basic senses and usually requires exposure, so it is only partially transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Stick the landing comes from sports like gymnastics and diving, where to stick the landing means to land a jump and stay still instead of stepping or falling. So, it means 'to finish a move smoothly and without error'.