twirling, vbl. n.
[f. twirl v.1]
In senses of the verb; spec. manipulating a baton as the leader of a marching band.
| 1598 Florio, Girata,..a twirling of anything. 1623 Fletcher Rule a Wife ii. iii, Leave twirling of your hat, and hold your head up, And speak to th' lady. 1626 Bacon Sylva §845 The Twisting of Thred; And the Practice of Twirling about of Spindles. 1822–9 Good Study Med. (ed. 3) V. 200 The sudden twirlings of the mouth..the jactitating struggle of the limbs. 1938 Benner & Painter Art of Baton Spinning I. ii. 4/1 All actions of baton spinning may be divided into four categories: Looping, Twirling, Spinning and Throwing. 1945 F. H. Rodgers Keokuk High School Marching Band Student's Handbk. ii. 11 It is not necessary that the drum major do any twirling. 1974 Cleveland (Ohio) Plain Dealer 26 Oct. 6-d/3 They got fancier with their twirling and began to do tricks. 1980 Times 7 Aug. 12/7 The United States Twirling Association..[wants] to have twirling recognized as a full Olympic sport. |