# Better alternative for the unfortunate term "indian burn" in reference to twisting a cylinder?

this answer to Wrapped hexagon topology begins:

It's still a torus, lol - just with a $$180^{\circ}$$ "Indian burn" relative to the square-wrapped version:

and the link to Wikipedia's now deleted article "List of school pranks; Indian or Chinese burn" is unfortunate in my opinion. (article is no longer available)

So looking towards finding the best way to edit this post, I'd like to ask:

1. Does this usage have some mathematical history? Does this term have a specific mathematical meaning in this context?
2. Is there an alternative way to describe this twisting motion that doesn't have an ethnic reference to a sadistic act?
• I know this is about a math SE answer, but it seems like it might be better on, say, the English SE rather than Math Meta. But it also seems like "twist" suffices in this context so that it might not be worth asking there either. Mar 19 at 1:52
• @MarkS. I've edited the question to make it clearer just why this is the correct place for this question.
– uhoh
Mar 19 at 2:40
• Wikipedia does not delete articles for being insensitive. Wikipedia deletes articles that it doesn't find "noteworthy" and/or if there aren't any reputable sources to cite. I would remove mention of Wikipedia from the question for better focus. Mar 19 at 4:39
• @TrevorGunn done, thanks!
– uhoh
Mar 19 at 5:20
• "Half a Dehn twist" might be a good alternate descriptor, though that's probably more mathy when the intent was to go less mathy. Here are some alternate suggestions: one could picture licorice, an auger, a drill bit, or a screw thread and think about twisting the ends so that the lines on the outside are more or less twisted. Mar 19 at 7:16
• I am guessing that the term in question is less common than when I was a child; as such, it is likely less evocative for current readers than the author of that answer might expect. Mar 19 at 17:06
• "Twist" would be just fine, to be understood in its informal sense. Mar 21 at 14:00
• @LeeMosher Thanks! I'm a big fan of Math SE's community and its careful and respectful treatment of each others' posts. As this user no longer seems to be active, it will fall upon the community or the moderators to adjust this. I was hoping someone who's active here would do so, but nobody has, so I'll do so now.
– uhoh
Mar 25 at 3:41

In mathematics the proper name is Dehn twist. The comment is perhaps unfortunate but orthogonal to the usual jargon.

• excellent, thank you!
– uhoh
Apr 28 at 14:47
• I changed this from a mobile link. I hope you don't mind! Thanks for the link, this was very educational. Apr 29 at 14:53