oil-down

noun

The application of oil to the body in order to soothe and/or prevent drying.

Meanings

nounoil-down (plural oil-downs)

plural oil-downs · alternative oildown · alternative oil down

  1. The application of oil to the body in order to soothe and/or prevent drying.

    Spear will be getting a nice soothing oil-down Saturday.

    2017, “Sturgeon Spearing, Winnebago County Fishing Reports”, in Lake Link
  2. Alternative form of oildown.
    1. Meat, breadfruit, and vegetables cooked in coconut milk.

      Popular with locals at the weekend, you will often see people enjoying picnics and oil-downs on the sand by the tables opposite the visitor centre.

      2017, Paul Crask, Grenada: Carriacou and Petite Martinique, →ISBN, page 175
      2 more examples

      Although you may be offered insipid tourist-oriented fare in larger hotels, local cooking - meaning anything from Indian curry to Creole oil-down, or Spanish-style pastelles - still reigns supreme.

      2002, Nicky Agate, The Caribbean, →ISBN, page 726

      When finished and all ingredients are cooked but not mushy, serve in calabash bowls (or ceramic bowls) and eat with a spoon.The pepper can now be removed from the muslin cloth and mashed, and a little can be placed on the oil-down for those who can tolerate the pepper.

      2011, Ken Albala, Food Cultures of the World Encyclopedia, →ISBN
    2. Oil spill.

      Taking the time to sharpen a dull pencil after a few strokes is as annoying as an oil-down after each round of drag racing.

      2006, T Taylor, How to draw cars like a pro
      3 more examples

      It was a little hotter and there were more oil-downs so that kept us pretty busy and we were very tired by the end of Saturday's activities.

      2011, Ike Heckler Jr, Drag Racing 201: Racing in the New Economy, page 53

      "We offer race teams considerable input on how to avoid oil-downs,” said Graham Light, NHRA's senior vice president of racing operations.

      2015 January 28, Anne Proffit, “NHRA alters oil-down rules”, in Motorsport

      So it came to pass that National Challenge 1974 was conducted at Gil Kohn's New York National Speedway and was an unconditional disaster, doomed by rain, high ticket prices, no traction, lengthy oil-downs, botched lane assignments, numerous pit fights, charges of slander, threatened officials, surly track personnel, and a general lack of communication, all of which prompted the spectacle of Garlits' public resignation from his presidency and leaving the facility in mid-event.

      2016 -, Scotty Gosson -, Lost Drag Strips II: More Ghosts of Quarter-Miles Past, →ISBN, page 92
Cite this entry
APA

oil-down. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oil-down

MLA

“oil-down.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oil-down. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “oil-down,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oil-down.

Source: oil-down on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.