albatrosses
Massive gliding seabirds
Albatrosses is the plural of albatross, a large seabird with the longest wingspan of any living bird, capable of gliding vast distances over open ocean.
In figurative use from Coleridge's poem, an albatross is a burden of guilt or responsibility that weighs on someone: The failed project became an albatross around his neck.
In golf, an albatross is three under par on a single hole.
Ocean-dwelling avians
- wingspanTip-to-tip extent
- wanderingTraveling with no fixed course
- glidingEngineless aerial movement
- soaringRising effortlessly upward
pelagic · colonies · nesting · Midway · fledglings · plumage · tube-nosed · Southern Ocean
English Romantic verse-maker
- omenProphetic indicator
- superstitionBaseless belief in omens
- sailorsMaritime vessel crew members
- maritimeOf the sea
killing · penance · crossbow · poem · symbolism · guilt · supernatural · voyage
Grain-crushing circular stone
- guiltMoral self-reproach
- curseInvoked harm through words
- obstacleSomething blocking the way
- weightMeasure of heaviness
encumbrance · hindrance · shame · haunting · inescapable · symbolic · legacy · regret
At risk of extinction
- plasticCapable of being molded
- pollutionEnvironmental harm from waste
- longlineFishing line with many hooks
- bycatchNon-target species caught accidentally
extinction · protected · habitat · decline · threats · preservation · mortality · hooks
Seldom found or seen
- hole-in-oneSingle-stroke completion
- scorecardRecord of play
- achievementAccomplished goal or deed
- aceSingle-pip card
birdie · eagle · condor · scoring · exceptional · feat · tournament · links
seabirds
Ocean-dwelling avians
soaring · pelagic · colonies · nesting · Midway · fledglings · plumage · tube-nosed · Southern Ocean · breeding
Coleridge
English Romantic verse-maker
- omenProphetic indicator
- superstitionBaseless belief in omens
- sailorsMaritime vessel crew members
maritime · killing · penance · crossbow · poem · symbolism · guilt · supernatural · voyage · curse
millstone
Grain-crushing circular stone
weight · encumbrance · hindrance · shame · haunting · inescapable · symbolic · legacy · regret · stigma
endangered
At risk of extinction
- plasticCapable of being molded
- pollutionEnvironmental harm from waste
- longlineFishing line with many hooks
bycatch · extinction · protected · habitat · decline · threats · preservation · mortality · hooks · fisheries
rare
Seldom found or seen
- hole-in-oneSingle-stroke completion
- scorecardRecord of play
- achievementAccomplished goal or deed
ace · birdie · eagle · condor · scoring · exceptional · feat · tournament · links · championship
- birdsrobin, crow, eagle, owl, duck
- seabirdspenguin, penguins, pelican, pelicans, seagull
- waterbirdsducks, auk, geese, bittern, swans
- Galapagosgiant tortoises, marine iguanas, marine iguana, Galapagos tortoise, giant tortoise
- lifelong matesswans, wolves, gibbons, lovebirds, bald eagles
- French Subantarctic
albatrossesblessings
Favors from the divine
benefits · assets · advantages · boons · windfalls
albatrossesstorm petrels
Small tube-nosed seabirds
hummingbirds · sparrows · wrens · finches · penguins
albatrossespenguins
Flightless aquatic seabirds
flightless birds · ostriches · emus · kiwis
- albatross around one's neckPersistent source of guilt
- albatross round one's neckPersistent psychological burden