curlicue n. (Sometimes written curlycue or carlicue) Some thing curled or spiral, as a flourish made with a pen on paper, or with skates on the ice; a trick; a frolicsome caper. ( Colloq. U.S.)
... so that we didn't feel lighter, nor any of the objects in the cabin—it just worked on the dull silvery metal—and I proved my point by using Mother to shave a little wisp of metal off the edge of the control board. The curlicue stayed in the air wherever you put it and when you moved it you could feel the faintest sort of gyroscopic ... — The Night of the Long Knives • Fritz Reuter Leiber
...
