spindizzy

From spin +‎ dizzy. The science fiction sense was coined by American author James Blish in 1950 for the Cities in Flight series of books (published 1950–1962).

spindizzy (plural spindizzies)

1. (games) An engine-powered miniature racing car running on a circular track, tethered by cables to a central pole, popular in the 1940s.

   Hypernym: tether car

   • 2010 September 24, Robert C. Yeager, “For Tether Car Collectors, Originality Counts Most”, in The New York Times‎:

     Spindizzies, or tether cars, come in three categories of descending value: original as raced, restored and reproduced. […] The best indicator of a spindizzy’s authenticity is its size, said Eric Zausner of Berkeley, Calif., who has an extensive collection. “Repros are always smaller because they come from second-generation molds.”

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:spindizzy.
   1. (dated) A collector or enthusiast of such miniature cars.
      • 1941 January 1, “Spindizzies Hold Model Auto Race This Afternoon”, in The Arizona Daily Star, volume 100, number 1, Tucson, Ariz.:

        Spindizzies, model auto racing fans to you, are going to have a field day at Safford Junio[r] High School grounds, facing South Fourth avenue, this afternoon.

2. (science fiction) An anti-gravity propulsion system capable of faster-than-light travel, powered by the hypothetical Blackett effect.