flutz

n. in ice skating, a flubbed lutz executed as a flip. Also as v. Subjects: English, Sports & Recreation, Slang

Editorial Note: See the 1997 citation from Brian Boitano for a more technical description of a flutz. A lutz is “a jump with a backward takeoff from the backward outside edge of one skate to the backward outside edge of the other, with one or more full turns in the air,” according to the New Oxford American Dictionary. Etymological Note: flip (or perhaps flub) + lutz

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Citations: 1994 Usenet: rec.skate (Jan. 11) “Bobek’s Flutz”: I know she has pizzazz, but she just did not have the overall clean program that Elaine did and she did NOT do a triple lutz…she did a triple flutz as we call it. 1997 Steve Milton Hamilton Spectator (Ontario, Canada) (Mar. 1) “Unlocking the combination: American and Russian come close, but freeskate tonight will tell all” p. D4: Lipinski made a slight error on the front portion of the combination, for an automatic .2 point deduction. She did what, in the business, is referred to a “flutz.” 1997 Brian Boitano Boitano’s Edge (Dec. 1) p. 56: Flutz: a jump that’s supposed to be a Lutz, but where the skater changes to an inside edge before launching off the toe pick, which turns the jump into the easier flip. 2002 Nancy Armour (AP) (Jan. 28) “Figure skaters to watch at the Winter Games”: Has been criticized—and marked down by judges—for “flutzing,” changing edge on takeoff of her triple lutz and turning it into a flip. 2006 CBC.ca (Canada) (Feb. 23) “Figure skaters chase gold standard”: Robinson pointed to the 21-year-old’s planned Lutz on Tuesday, which saw the skater take off from an outside edge, making it more of a flip, or “flutz,” in figure skating parlance.

Posted 24 Feb 06 | Permalink | Tell a Friend