dead-man's float

American  

noun

Swimming.

1. a prone floating position, used especially by beginning swimmers, with face downward, legs extended backward, and arms stretched forward.

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Etymology

Origin of dead-man's float

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

I slept all day, face down in the pillow, a comfortable dead-man’s float only remotely disturbed by a chill undertow of reality—talk, footsteps, slamming doors—which threaded fitfully through the dark, blood-warm waters of dream.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

Cade assumed a faceup dead-man’s float in the middle of the pool.

From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith