mopping up the ice

Verb

mop up the ice (third-person singular simple present mops up the ice, present participle mopping up the ice, simple past and past participle mopped up the ice)

1. (figure skating) To fall many times during a performance.
   • On the other hand, you may see a skater hit all his triples in practice, then he mops up the ice during the competition.1997, Brian Boitano, Suzanne Harper, Boitano's Edge: Inside The Real World Of Figure Skating, →ISBN, page 90