Twirligig

[f. TWIRL v.¹ after whirligig.] A twirly pattern; a whirligig.

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1811. T. Moore, M. P., or The Blue-stocking, II.

	Come, lads, life’s a whirligig;
	Round we whisk
	With a joyous frisk,
	And till death stops the turn of our twirligig.

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1835. Wales Chron., 20 Sept., 4/1.

	Tho’ he could not compete with his sisters from France,
	Who were train’d to excel in the twirligig dance.

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1881. N. Y. Times, 30 Jan., 4/4. I have always fancied Milan [Cathedral], with all its wondrous spires and pinnacles and twirligigs, was after all but a glorified and idealized wedding-cake.

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1903. 19th Cent., June, 950. A lumpish, putty-coloured object … embossed all over with serpentine flourishes and twirligigs.

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