▪ I. ˈroller-skate, n.
[roller n.1 7.]
1. A skate mounted on small wheels or rollers, usually two pairs, instead of a metallic blade, for use in skating on smooth flooring, etc. Orig. U.S. Also attrib.
| 1863 Rep. Comm. Patents 1861 (U.S.) I. 280 A roller skate provided with two rows of tubular adjustable rollers. 1874 Vandervell & Witham Figure-Skating (ed. 2) iv. 68 Good ice-skaters are usually under the impression that they can at once perform their..evolutions on these roller-skates. 1887 Encycl. Brit. XXII. 105/2 The fatigue caused by these ‘roller skates’ is quadruple that of ordinary ice skating. 1893 Kipling Many Invent. 5 The roller-skate rattle of the revolving lenses. |
2. A vehicle considered to resemble a roller-skate, spec. (a) a tank; (b) a small car. slang.
| 1941 Reader's Digest Feb. 92 The boys of Britain's R.A.F. have developed a language all their own...‘roller skates’ are tanks. 1961 Partridge Dict. Slang Suppl. 1127/2 Roller skate, a small, light waggon. 1976 Lieberman & Rhodes Compl. CB Handbk. vi. 135 Rollerskate, a small or foreign car. |
Hence ˈroller-skater, -skating (also attrib.).
| 1874 Vandervell & Witham Figure-Skating (ed. 2) iv. 68 The operation of the ice skate seems variable and uncertain to the roller-skater. Ibid. 71 The exercise of roller-skating becomes..as fascinating as ice-skating. 1884 N.Y. Weekly Tribune 13 Aug. 4/3 Down at the roller skating rink having an awfully good time. 1884 E. Yates Recoll. (ed. Tauchn.) I. 181 The London world went..mad over the production of Le Prophète [1847–52], in which, by the way, roller-skating was first introduced. 1888 Boston Jrnl. 4 Oct. 2/4 The roller-skating craze..has died out in this section. 1910 Cycling 2 Mar. 202 (caption) The roller-skating craze in Germany—a lady's race. 1949 Time 18 Apr. 25/1 The village board..should wake up, give the kids a roller-skating rink. 1977 [see roller-skate v.]. |
▪ II. ˈroller-skate, v.
[f. the n.]
intr. To use roller-skates; to travel on roller-skates. Also fig.
| 1928 Daily Tel. 7 Feb. 4/7 Splendid and Partner can roller-skate as agilely on one table as Barrie Oliver can dance on another. 1935 W. Fortescue Perfume from Provence 93 What more amusing than to watch the pompous Monsieur Jeannot slip on a piece of banana skin and skid into a heap of oranges, some of which scatter under the stalls and are swiftly prigged by alert urchins, while other marketers roller-skate on the remainder? 1942 Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §728/4 Drive fast,..roller-skate. 1967 in Cox & Grose Organiz. Bibliogr. Rec. by Computer vii. 185 The National Employee Index..was referred to constantly—so much so that the messengers had to roller-skate through the file to gain access to it. 1973 Times 12 Nov. 18/6 Indeed children were roller-skating all over the place. 1977 J. Cleary High Road to China vii. 226 The last event in the programme... A roller-skating race... Can you roller-skate? |