DCHP-2

glare ice DCHP-1 (pre-1967)

• 1

  smooth, translucent, slippery ice on lakes and rivers.

  See also: glare ((adj.))  glib ice  glare ((n.))  

  • 1829  I . . . once beheld a large [wolf] in close pursuit of a buck on the glare ice of the Mississippi Lake.
  • 1872  (1873)  The lake freezes, but there is so little snow that the travellers prefer fording the river to trusting to the glare ice.
  • 1939  (1951)  Patches of glare ice showed bottle green all over it and the wind chased rills of blown snow across it, twisting and dancing as they went.
  • 1963  . . . one cannot put brakes on in a hurry with just a light covering of snow over the glare ice. . . .

• 2

  smooth, slippery ice formed on the ground after a fall of freezing rain or sleet.

  See also: silver thaw  glare ((n.)) (def. 2)  

  • 1872  On our return we had not to face the wind, but the glare ice--from which the slight covering of snow had been blown off. . . .
  • 1954  While regular chains are not as effective as the reinforced type on glare ice, they do provide good traction on snow and, to some extent, on ice.
  • 1965  The road along the waterfront between the three causeway spans was glare ice in sections adding to the woes of the motorists.

• 3

  any formation of smooth, translucent ice.

  • 1956  Over us leaned a slim, graceful tower of glare ice fifty feet high, shaped by wind and sleet into beautiful curves and carved with delicate ridges.