teeter-totter
/ˈtiːtətɒtə
/North American or dialect
noun
A see-saw: a playground with swings and teeter-totters figurative the teeter-totter of public opinion...
- The playground consisted of two large slides, ten swings, a teeter-totter, sand box, and a large jungle gym to run around in.
- ‘I would hang on to the top bar on my swing set and stand on the seat of the teeter-totter,’ Megan reveals.
- She looked around at the other children chasing each other in games of Tag, soaring to the sky on swings, bobbing up and down on the teeter-totters, and bouncing a ball.
verb [no object]
Teeter; waver: between ego and object, we teeter-totter...
- This said shoe is usually very difficult to walk in, with the wearer teeter-tottering from A to B and back again.
- It seemed that all the shops were taking deliveries, with great stacks of boxes teeter-tottering in the aisles.
- Jumping up with my other foot on the sill, my black socks teeter-tottered on the sill, swaying back and forth, as did my body.
Origin
Late 19th century: reduplication of teeter or totter1.