topspin

noun, verb — 3 senses

topspin

noun

Etymology From top + spin.

1

A rotational motion, especially that given to a ball, in which the upper surface spins in the direction of motion.

  • The tennis star was famed for her topspin.
2

Broadcasting, Film, Media, Publishing, Television An edgy, quirky or otherwise engaging quality that holds the interest of the audience.

  • Well remembered as a visual comedienne, she also had the verbal knack of putting all sorts of topspin on a line.1994, Richard D. Heldenfels, Television's Greatest Year: 1954, page 70:
  • Flashdance had a quality known as top spin, in which the casting, the concept and the look and sound of the movie all come together.2010, Justin Wyatt, High Concept: Movies and Marketing in Hollywood:
1 more example
  • 2016, Quentin Letts, "A Very English Scandal: sex, lies and a murder plot at the heart of the establishment by John Preston - review" (in Evening Standard, 28 April 2016) https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/books/a-very-english-scandal-sex-lies-and-a-murder-plot-at-the-heart-of-the-establishment-by-john-preston-a3236271.html This fluent, readable book has certainly been polished with a fair degree of what Fleet Street feature editors once called topspin: “Give it some topspin, old boy. Make the copy sing.” In this John Preston more than succeeds.
Synonyms
forespin
Antonyms
backspin
Derived terms
top-spinner

topspin

verb

Etymology From top + spin.

1

To spin (a ball) with this motion.

  • He could keep winning through attrition, with a relentless barrage of topspinning ground strokes and a tireless defense of his own side, where would-be winners go to die.2007 August 27, John Branch, “His Next Line to Cross”, in New York Times:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.