pearl-divev.
/ˈpəːlˌdʌɪv/, U.S. /ˈpərlˌdaɪv/ slang.
1. intransitive. To dive for pearls.
ΚΠ
1869 Edinb. Evening Courant 14 Aug. 5/5 The pearl fishery being free to all without need of license, and with no rules for its regulation, a mob of people who have nothing better to do may annually be found pearl diving.
1975 W. A. Douglass & J. Bilbao Amerikanuak iv. 180 They even forbade their own soldiers and Indian charges to pearl dive.
2018 Guardian (Nexis) 15 Feb. You'll get to see a demonstration of how to pearl dive and how to open an oyster shell to find the pearl.
2. intransitive. Surfing. = pearl v.1 6b.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > water sports except racing > surfing > surf-ride [verb (intransitive)] > actions of surfer
pearl-dive1923
slide1931
hot-dog1959
to hang five, ten1962
to kick out1962
to cut back1963
to pull out1963
to pull off1964
nose-ride1965
rollercoaster1969
shred1977
rail1986
to pull in1987
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > water sports except racing > surfing > surf-ride [verb (intransitive)] > actions of board
pearl-dive1923
pearl1961
nose1963
1923 Honolulu Star-Bull. 21 Apr. iv. 2/1 If you catch it [sc. the wave] just before the break the long board is harder to turn, and hence is more apt to ‘pearl dive’.
1971 Stud. in Eng. (Univ. Cape Town) 2 27 If he is too far forward on the board the nose may dig in and the board pearl (shortened form of pearl-dive).
2003 Re: what can you tell me about this surfboard? in alt.surfing (Usenet newsgroup) 4 Dec. They're called ‘Pearlers’ because every time you catch a wave they want to ‘pearl dive’.
3. intransitive. Originally and chiefly U.S. To wash dishes in a cafe or restaurant.
ΚΠ
1930 J. Dos Passos 42nd Parallel v. 402 He got a job pearldiving in a lunch~room.
1933 J. Conroy Disinherited 193 Try to get a job slinging hash, or pearl diving.
1969 R. D. Pharr Bk. Numbers 282 This is Cokey's going-away party ain't it? And you wants him to stay in the kitchen and pearl-dive?
1994 Rocky Mountain News (Denver) (Nexis) 6 Dec. 2 d In the mid-'70s, Pentland was pearl diving in a Georgetown restaurant while married to Roseanne Barr, an unknown comic and domestic goddess.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, September 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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