A vocabulary of landscape — a landscape of words
1068 entries
corduroy
In trail-building, logs laid side by side across a boggy path to create a stable surface — a road made of wood over ground that would otherwise swallow you. Walking on corduroy is like walking on piano keys. Also, the texture of snow after a resort grooming machine has passed over it.
Etymology
English, from the resemblance to corduroy fabric (ridged cloth). The trail-building term dates to colonial American road construction.