spindizzy

English

Etymology

From spin +‎ dizzy. The science fiction sense was coined by American author James Blish in 1950 for the Cities in Flight series of books (published 1950–1962).

Noun

spindizzy (plural spindizzies)

1. (games) An engine-powered miniature racing car running on a circular track, tethered by cables to a central pole, popular in the 1940s.

   Hypernym: tether car

   • 2010 September 24, Robert C. Yeager, “For Tether Car Collectors, Originality Counts Most”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     Spindizzies, or tether cars, come in three categories of descending value: original as raced, restored and reproduced. […] The best indicator of a spindizzy’s authenticity is its size, said Eric Zausner of Berkeley, Calif., who has an extensive collection. “Repros are always smaller because they come from second-generation molds.”

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:spindizzy.
   1. (dated) A collector or enthusiast of such miniature cars.
      • 1941 January 1, “Spindizzies Hold Model Auto Race This Afternoon”, in The Arizona Daily Star, volume 100, number 1, Tucson, Ariz.:

        Spindizzies, model auto racing fans to you, are going to have a field day at Safford Junio[r] High School grounds, facing South Fourth avenue, this afternoon.

2. (science fiction) An anti-gravity propulsion system capable of faster-than-light travel, powered by the hypothetical Blackett effect.
   • [2014, Brian Clegg, Final Frontier: The Pioneering Science and Technology of Exploring the Universe, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin's Press, →ISBN, page 26:

     So the twin scientific themes of the first book are the development of antigravity technology called spindizzies that enable whole cities to lift into space, and the production of "anti-agathic" drugs that can extend life indefinitely, necessary for the immense journey times in interstellar space.]

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:spindizzy.

References

• Jesse Sheidlower, editor (2001–2024), “spindizzy, n.”, in Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction.