What's It Called?

[stoutfellow]

Is there a name for the kind of "dive" you see in cartoons sometimes, where the diver jumps up and slightly forward from the edge of the pool, holds their nose and tucks their legs, and hits the water bottom first?

Comments

[conuly]

Cannonball?

[stoutfellow]

That's been suggested, but I'm not quite satisfied. The word "cannonball", to me, means taking a running jump, curling up completely with arms around legs, and smashing, sphere-shaped, into the water.

This jump doesn't necessarily aim for a big splash, though it certainly could produce one. I suppose it could be classed as a kind of cannonball, but I'm looking for a narrower term.