teetotum spins, took ballet to task

teetotum (tee-TO-tuhm)

noun
A spinning top.

Etymology
From T-totum. Originally a teetotum was a kind of die used in a game of chance. It had a stick put through a six-sided die so that only four sides could be used. One of the sides had the letter T representing Latin totum (all), implying take the whole stake from the pot. Other sides had letters A aufer (take one stake from the pot), D depone (put one stake), and N nihil (do nothing). A dreidel is a form of teetotum

A picture of a teetotum antiquegamblingchips.com/site/PutTakeForSale.jpg.

[名]

1 （指で回す）小さいこま.

2 四角ごま：側面に違った頭文字をしるしたこま；これをまわして賭(か)け（put-and-take）を行う.
Usage
"In 1890s London, George Bernard Shaw 's music reviews frequently took ballet to task. How weary he was of illogical plots and the empty virtuosity of what he referred to as 'teetotum spins'." — Deborah Jowitt; Nothing Left to Lose; The Village Voice (New York); Jan 18, 2000.

take ballet 上芭蕾舞課 可能表示" teetotum spins"如芭蕾舞.....