Darkslide

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A trick in skateboarding characterized by the board being slid along a surface while the rider's body is positioned low and sideways against the obstacle
2. This maneuver entails a sideways slide of the skateboard along an edge or rail, requiring skill and control from the skater
3. A specific skateboarding move where the board slides along a surface with the rider positioned sideways, demonstrating both agility and balance

Etymology: The skateboarding "darkslide" is a compound of two ordinary English words, "dark" and "slide," and its name points to a piece of photographic equipment rather than to anything on wheels. A dark slide is a thin, flat holder that fits into the back of a large-format camera and keeps the light-sensitive plate sealed off until the photographer is ready to make an exposure. Pulling the slide out opens the shutter path to the film, which is why the device was named for its job: a slide that works in the dark. The skateboard trick borrows that name for a move in which the rider slides the board sideways across a surface, typically a curb, rail or ledge, with the wheels grinding along it. Nothing in the trick involves light or darkness, so the link is purely a matter of naming. Writing "dark slide" as one word, as the alternative spelling shows, is the usual form for the skateboarding term.