Superman
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈs(j)uːpə(ɹ)mæn/
ipa: /ˈsupɚmæn/
Forms: form: Supermen
form: Supermans
Etymology: From super- + man. The character, created by Jerry Siegel (1914–1996) and Joe Shuster (1914–1992), first appeared in DC Comics’ Action Comics #1 dated June 1938. The ice-cream flavor is named in reference to the red, yellow and blue of the superhero's costume.
Senses: glosses: Alternative letter-case form of superman: a man of extraordinary or seemingly superhuman powers.
examples: text: [page 77] Riders should adapt their own style when doing Supermans, and shouldn't get hung up trying to do it the same way that someone else does. […] [page 79] An extension of the Superman is a trick called the Superman Seat Grab. Even more impressive than the Superman itself, this trick was again brought over from the BMX world, […] During the Superman Seat Grab, […] the rider lets go of the left side of the bars and grabs either a cutout in the rear number plate or a grab handle that has been previously installed. With his body moved toward the back of the bike, the rider is able to extend the bike way out in front of himself, almost floating behind the machine. […] Whichever way they are done, the Superman and its variations are some of the most impressive and difficult tricks out there.
ref: 2000, Garth Milan, edited by Sara Perfetti, Freestyle Motocross: Jump Tricks from the Pros, Osceola, Wis.: MBI Publishing Company, →ISBN, pages 77 and 79:
text: I'm still trying to do the tricks Nicknack, Superman, and Bar hop. […] Superman is where you grab the handlebars and let your feet and body free.
ref: 2003, Dalton Cooper, “The First Time I Got My Dirt Bike”, in TWIGS in the Mitten, New York, N.Y.: School Success Press, iUniverse, →ISBN, pages 69–70:
text: On the first vert, he reared up the side and let the bike take him out. Midair, he made the 180 turn and slipped back in. This time, as he hit the other side, his whole body slipped off the bike, until only his hands held onto the handlebars. The skaters deliberately turned away as the bikers chanted, ‘Superman! Superman! Superman!’
ref: 2008, Andrew Fusek Peters, “The Bowl and the Bully”, in Diamonds are for Evil (Skateboard Detectives), London: Orchard Books, →ISBN:
text: A trick first popularized by Jeremy McGrath, the Superman gave the impression of a rider in full flight, not so much riding his bike as trailing it through the sky. McGrath had done the Superman at the end of races and in exhibitions, and it always killed. But he'd never done a Superman like this. No one had ever done it like this. The goal when executing a Superman was simply to go horizontal, at 180 degrees, while barely touching the bike. But this kid had gone way beyond horizontal. Rather than just kicking his feet out behind him, he'd lifted his legs high in the air, his boots hanging back over his body, two feet above his torso, like a scorpion getting ready to strike.
ref: 2013, Larry Linkogle, Joe Layden, Mind of the Demon: A Memoir of Motocross, Madness, and the Metal Mulisha, Philadelphia, Pa.: Running Press, →ISBN:
topics: hobbies
lifestyle
motorcycling
qualifier: plural Supermans
glosses: A stunt in which the rider releases both hands from the handlebars in mid-air.
qualifier: plural Supermans
glosses: An exercise in which one lies prone and lifts one's arms and legs, with only the abdomen touching the ground.
glosses: A flavor of ice cream that is a mixture of blue moon ice cream, and other ice cream flavors that are colored red and yellow.