Isthmus- a narrow stretch of land connecting two larger land masses
Ex: They sped hastily along the isthmus, uneased by the sense that they didn’t give themselves enough of a buffer to avoid the rising tide. This was the big night, and they desperately did not want to be stranded on the wrong side of the island, missing out on the grand festivities of the evening. Bill, a tall older man, turned to Kevin, a slightly younger and shorter man, and told him to slow down for a second, for he needed to catch his breath. The water was rising quickly now. It was almost up to their knees as they splashed their way through the narrow strip of land and lifted themselves up a set of jet black obsidian boulders and onto a wide plain studded with ash and volcanic rock. It was now almost pitch black. The event was surely about to begin.
They made their way across the short burnt out grass, the whole time gazing carefully down at their feet to avoid tripping on any cooled lava-rock formations. They could see the torch lights growing brighter in the distance as they approached. As they sidled up to the entrance of the massive and imposing carnival tent, they were greeted by a tan man in a tuxedo. “Mr. Clinton, Mr. Spacey. We’ve been expecting you.”
As they passed through the door, they heard the ESPN fantasy football draft notification sound being blared through the speakers. Seated at many large dining tables all around them were families consisting of parents in their early 40’s and their tweenaged sons and daughters. Kevin and Bill looked up at the commanding stage in front of them, and then turned to one another and grinned from ear to ear. The bleach white banner hanging above the stage read “The 2016 Epstein Island Grooming Draft” in black block lettering. Damn, it felt good to be back, they thought.
Bill scanned the crowd and pointed to a pig-tailed 12-year-old with braces and leant up close to Kevin’s ear to tell him, “That’s her. You see the potential, right? I’m thinking of using my first rounder on her.” Kevin nodded in approval. He did a 180 degree turn and shot his finger out in the direction of a lanky middle schooler in a tight Hollister t-shirt. “That’s my guy. The size is already there. His physicals tested off the charts. The only issue is I may have to trade my pick with Prince Andrew. I know he’s also had his eye on him.”
I first saw the word in an episode of Aeon Flux: "Isthumus Crypticus." It was about bird people. I think the word might have been used figuratively.