stick landing
Perfect gymnastics finish
To stick a landing is to land firmly and cleanly after a jump, dismount, or aerial maneuver—feet planted, no wobble, no extra steps.
The phrase comes from gymnastics, where judges penalize movement after landing: She stuck the landing on her vault.
It extends to any situation requiring a perfect finish: The movie had a weak third act but stuck the landing.
- gymnastBalance and flexibility athlete
- dismountGet off something ridden
- perfectWithout any flaw
- perfect tenHighest possible rating
- nailedSecured with fasteners
vault · high bar · uneven bars · pommel horse · balance beam · floor routine · touchdown · precision · impact · feet · plant · solid · score · Olympics · tumbling · flip · full twist · rotation
- gymnasticsgymnastics, balance beam, floor exercise, handstand, parallel bars
- Nailed Itnailed it, crushed it, aced it, slam dunk, hole in one
- gymnastics termscartwheel, handstand, dismount, mount, split
- vaultingsafety vault, vaulting horse, springboard, takeoff, preflight
- dismountsdismount, get off, hop off, jump off, step off
stick landingfall
Descend under gravity
stumble · wobble · lose balance · step out · balance check
stick landingchoke
Obstruct breathing or airflow
disaster · meltdown · deduction · incomplete
stick, landing, sticks, sticking, stuck, sticky, stickiness, sticker, stickers