Dictionary

mop up the ice en · VERB

Etymology

From the image of cleaning the ice with one's body.

Meanings

1. (qualifier:figure skating) To fall many times during a performance.
   • There are LaBrecque and Bussey mopping up the ice in the usual pratfalls and assorted other spills. 2014 May 9, Lewis Funke, “25th Ice Capades: A Captivating Affair”, in The New York Times:
   • On the other hand, you may see a skater hit all his triples in practice, then he mops up the ice during the competition. 1997, Brian Boitano, Suzanne Harper, Boitano's Edge: Inside The Real World Of Figure Skating, →ISBN, page 90:
   • At last year's Canadian championships, she KO'd her long-held Olympic dream when she mopped up the ice in her short program. 2007 January 19, Randy Starkman, “Hawker's a scrapper dressed up in sequins”, in Toronto Star:

Forms