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overflow ((n.))
Esp. North
DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
Entry from the DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
This entry may contain outdated or offensive information, terms, and examples.
n.
water covering all or part of the frozen surface of a river or lake, having been forced by expansion through cracks and fissures in the ice.
See: overflowing
Quotations
1863
All this time I was wading in the water and keeping the sled from upsetting; but when he continued his profanity I couldn't stand it any longer so just dumped him right out into the overflow and went on.
1938
. . . we followed the trail with our feet. Then we ran into overflow, and there was no trail.
1940
The rivers are generally the easiest routes for winter travel because they always have solid ice underneath, because they are windswept, and because the overflows reduce the amount of snow. On the other hand, overflows also make the rivers the most hazardous travelling.