Doing cartwheels

Could mean you’re in gymnastics. Or that you’re on amphetamines. Or you have a strange affinity for carts…or coins.

As a noun, the word “cartwheel” (originating in the 14th century) referred to the wheel of a cart. (Real hard to figure that one out). In 1864, it took on its acrobatic definition, describing a person who flips end-over-end like the wheel of a cart. It took a few decades, but it was later used as a verb (meaning to perform a cartwheel) in 1920.

In slang, both silver dollar coins and amphetamine tablets are also referred to as “cartwheels”.