Definition

Noun: A strong, narrow current of water that flows rapidly away from the shore, back out to sea, through or around a breaking wave. It is a dangerous phenomenon for swimmers, often occurring at low spots or breaks in sandbars.

Usage

This term is a specific, regional name for what is more commonly known as a "rip current" or "riptide." It is used to describe the powerful, channeled water flow. - Swimmers were warned about the dangerous sea-puss near the jetty. - The lifeguard identified the sea-puss by the choppy, discolored water moving seaward.

Advanced Usage

• The term "sea-puss" is considered archaic and is primarily used in specific coastal dialects, particularly in parts of the northeastern United States.
• It is a synonym for the more universally understood terms rip current or rip tide (though "riptide" is technically a misnomer).

Variants and Related Words

• Rip current (n): The modern, standard term for this phenomenon.
• Riptide (n): A common, though technically inaccurate, synonym for a rip current.
• Undertow (n): A related but distinct phenomenon involving a general subsurface return of water, not a strong, surface-narrowed current.

Synonyms

• Rip current
• Rip (informal)
• Riptide

Related Phrases/Idioms

• Caught in a sea-puss: To be trapped in the pull of a rip current.
  • The surfer was caught in a sea-puss but knew to swim parallel to the shore to escape.

Noun

1. the seaward undercurrent created after waves have broken on the shore