zebra crossing
nounUK /ˈzɛbɹə ˌkɹɔsɪŋ/
Etymology zebra + crossing From the similarity of the stripes to those of a zebra.
1
Commonwealth, Ireland, UK A pedestrian crossing featuring broad white stripes painted parallel to the street.
- 'Oh, that was easy,' says Man, and for an encore goes on to prove that black is white and gets himself killed on the next zebra crossing.1979 October 12, Douglas Adams, chapter 6, in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, London: Pan Books, →ISBN, page 50:
- Do not ride across a pelican, puffin or zebra crossing. Dismount and wheel your cycle across.2003, The Highway Code for Northern Ireland, The Stationery Office, →ISBN, page 16:
2 more examples
- They also believed that if they were killed on a zebra crossing, the Government would pay for their funerals. They had the definite impression that that was what zebra crossings were meant for. Free funerals.2008 December 16, Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things, Random House, →ISBN, →OL, Ch. 1:
- The Abbey Road zebra crossing in north London — made famous after appearing on a Beatles album cover — has been given Grade II listed status.2010 December 22, “Beatles' Abbey Road zebra crossing given listed status”, in BBC News:
- Related terms
- Belisha beacon, ghost island, island, pelican crossing, puffin crossing, toucan crossing
- Hypernyms
- crosswalk, pedestrian crossing, ped xing