{"id":6783,"date":"2022-08-01T18:11:58","date_gmt":"2022-08-01T18:11:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=6783"},"modified":"2022-08-01T18:11:58","modified_gmt":"2022-08-01T18:11:58","slug":"twisties-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/twisties-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Twisties \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are you watching a gymnast make a horrible landing at the Olympic games? They could be dealing with a case of the 'twisties<\/em>,' affecting their performance on the mat. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.<\/p>\n

Meaning<\/h2>\n

The expression 'twisties<\/em>' refers to a gymnast's loss of coordination and balance, resulting in changes to their performance on the mats and equipment. Gymnasts describe the feeling of the twisties as being lost in the air when they make a jump.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Athletes cannot complete tasks and use their skills to their normal ability. It's a mental performance problem experienced by gymnasts, particularly at the top level of the sport. The twisties<\/em> are a psychological condition, and the athlete must push past them to recover their skills.<\/p>\n

Some gymnasts may never recover from the twisties<\/em> or incur a severe injury in training or competition when attempting to push through it.<\/p>\n

Example Usage<\/h2>\n

\u201cLook at Simone Biles; she\u2019s crushed. I can\u2019t believe she missed that. She\u2019s always so perfect. I wonder if she\u2019s dealing with the twisties.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat poor girl been struggling with the twisties. She took that vault today, landed wrong, and broke her neck. Now she\u2019s paralyzed for life. Such a shame.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe twisties are a real thing. I had them earlier in my career and got a bad shoulder injury after a fall. I hope I never have to deal with them again. They\u2019re nasty.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can take days, weeks, months, or even years to get over the twisties. Some athletes find they can never return to their previous form.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA case of the twisties can ruin a gymnast's career. One day they\u2019re on top of the world, and the next, they can\u2019t land the most simple jumps.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have the twisties, you need to take some time off and let the nervous system reset. It\u2019s usually a psychological problem, not a physiological issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wonder how many Olympic gymnasts come down with a case of the twisties during their career? I bet it\u2019s a lot of them. I wonder how they overcome it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, pass me those chicken twisties, bruh, those things are the bomb. These Australians know what they\u2019re doing with these things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

Origin<\/h2>\n

The \u2018twisties\u2019 is an expression originating from the sport of gymnastics. Australian immigrant Isador Magid coined the term in 1951 to describe how a gymnast loses control over their coordination, resulting in poor performance in competition and at practice.<\/p>\n

However, it wasn\u2019t until the 2020 Olympics that \u201cthe twisties\" became a household phenomenon in the United States. American gymnast Simone Biles Famously caught a case of the \u2018twisties\u2019 during her performance at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.<\/p>\n

Simone, a former multi-gold medal winner, lost her coordination, sidelining herself for the rest of the tournament. Simone went on to explain that she wasn\u2019t allowed to bring her medication into Japan, resulting in changes to her brain chemistry and poor performance.<\/p>\n