heel turn
/ˈhil ˌtɚn/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.83 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A ballroom dancing move in which the dancer steps backwards, shifts their weight on to the back foot, and turns on the heel of that foot while holding the other foot close and parallel to it.
noun
An act of turning around abruptly, especially so that one faces the opposite direction.
noun
An act of turning around abruptly, especially so that one faces the opposite direction.
noun
A situation in which a wrestler previously identified as a hero changes to being considered a villain
noun
A situation in which a wrestler previously identified as a hero changes to being considered a villain
Example Sentences
- "The lady's step would then need to be drastically foreshortened, and would degenerate into a heel turn—not infrequent with beginners."
- "A second later, all I could think of was following Dad through the complex pattern of heel turns, weaves, spins and sweeping movements across the floor."
- "In some moves, such as a heel turn[…], the person dancing the heel turn cannot take a long second step, but the other person will."
- "Undoubtedly my old diagram was wrong in omitting to show cusps for the heel turns: […]"
- "Turn D, from outside backwards to inside forwards. This is also a heel turn, but is not so difficult as turn B; a considerable amount of practice, however, will be required before the skater will be able to do it with ease."
- "The former of the heel turns, called turn D, can be learnt without a fall if taken at a very slow pace; […] if begun slowly and in the correct manner, it is not a figure which need cause a fall. This, unfortunately, cannot be said of the other heel turn, called the B turn, the pierre d'achoppement [stumbling block] of all skaters."
Etymology
From heel (“rear part of the foot, where it joins the leg”) + turn; sense 2 (“act of turning around abruptly”) is derived from turn heel or turn on one’s heel. Sense 4 ("A situation in which a wrestler previously identified as a hero changes to being considered a villain") is a pun on the word heel, which also means “a headlining wrestler whose ring persona embodies villainous or reprehensible traits”.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈhil ˌtɚn/
- British English: /ˈhiːl təːn/