mop up the ice

From the image of cleaning the ice with one's body

mop up the ice (third-person singular simple present mops up the ice, present participle mopping up the ice, simple past and past participle mopped up the ice)

1. (figure skating) To fall many times during a performance.
   • 1997, Brian Boitano & ‎Suzanne Harper, Boitano's Edge: Inside The Real World Of Figure Skating, →ISBN, page 90:

     On the other hand, you may see a skater hit all his triples in practice, then he mops up the ice during the competition.

   • 2007 January 19, Randy Starkman, “Hawker's a scrapper dressed up in sequins”, in Toronto Star:

     At last year's Canadian championships, she KO'd her long-held Olympic dream when she mopped up the ice in her short program.

   • 2014 May 9, Lewis Funke, “25th Ice Capades: A Captivating Affair”, in The New York Times:

     There are LaBrecque and Bussey mopping up the ice in the usual pratfalls and assorted other spills.