Lee was: the Supplicant  ? 
Answered on: 30 Oct 2003

The Internet Oracle has pondered your question deeply.
Your question was:

> O Oracle, whom the adjectives nifty, keen, neato, spiffy, and swell
> just barely begin to describe, please answer these questions which
> have been plaguing me for the longest time:  Just what is a "fell
> swoop" and why do they only seem to come in singles?
>
And in response, thus spake the Oracle:

} A "fell swoop" describes the act of flying, where one hurtles
} towards the ground, but misses.  It is a contraction of the
} explanation "I fell, but then at the last moment I missed the
} ground with a graceful swoop, and was flying".
}
} They only come in singles, because any additional swoops one
} makes before landing are considered flight maneuvers, rather than
} post-falling "saves".  If one then pulls another "fell swoop", it
} is considered a distinct event.  Consider the sequence of: "fell
} swoop, land, fell swoop, crash, fell swoop, perch".  While there
} are three instances of flying in that sequence, each "fell swoop"
} is separated from any other instance by some other action.
}
} You owe the Oracle some Jeeper's creepers.