stonewalling
[stohn-waw-ling]
- the act of stalling, evading, or filibustering, especially to avoid revealing politically embarrassing information.
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Origin of stonewalling
stonewall
[stohn-wawl]
- to engage in stonewalling.
- British. filibuster(def 3).
- Cricket. (of a batsman) to play a defensive game, as by persistently blocking the ball instead of batting it for distance and runs.
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- Informal. to block, stall, or resist intentionally: lobbying efforts to stonewall passage of the legislation.
- British. to obstruct (the passage of a legislative bill) in Parliament, especially by excessive or prolonged debate.
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- pertaining to or characteristic of stonewalling: a new round of stonewall tactics.
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Origin of stonewall
v. and adj. use of noun phrase stone wall
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for stonewalling
Contemporary Examples
On Fox News he said he did not believe the CIA was stonewalling his committee, as others had alleged.
In the meeting with Ferguson, there was an accusation of stonewalling him.
He has not done so, and I gather he is stonewalling reporters on the question.
By stonewalling, Apple is needlessly making things worse for itself.
stonewall
- (intr) cricket (of a batsman) to play defensively
- to obstruct or hinder (parliamentary business)
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for stonewalling
stonewall
n.
Old English stanwalle (n.); see stone (n.) + wall (n.). As nickname of Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson (1824-1863), bestowed 1861 on the occasion of the First Battle of Bull Run, supposedly by Gen. Bernard Bee, urging his brigade to rally around Jackson, who was "standing like a stone wall." Bee was killed in the battle; the account of the nickname appeared in Southern newspapers within four days of the battle.
On the face of it this account has no character of authenticity, and the words ascribed to Bee smack less of the battlefield than of the editorial sanctum. ... It seems inherently probable that something was said by somebody, during or immediately after the battle, that likened Jackson or his men or both to a stone wall. [R.M. Johnston, "Bull Run: Its Strategy and Tactics," Boston, 1913]
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stonewall
v.
"to obstruct," 1914, from metaphoric use of stone wall for "act of obstruction" (1876). Related: Stonewalled; stonewalling.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper