whipsaw
[hwip-saw, wip-]
- a saw for two persons, as a pitsaw, used to divide timbers lengthwise.
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- to cut with a whipsaw.
- to win two bets from (a person) at one turn or play, as at faro.
- to subject to two opposing forces at the same time: The real-estate market has been whipsawed by high interest rates and unemployment.
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- (of a trailer, railroad car, etc.) to swing suddenly to the right or left, as in rounding a sharp curve at high speed.
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Origin of whipsaw
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for whipsaw
Contemporary Examples of whipsaw
The whipsaw can and does go up with almost as much speed as it goes down—recall the snap back from the lows of March of 2009.
Historical Examples of whipsaw
And I think he's going to whipsaw the market to a standstill this time, for sure.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
The boards we used in the building had to be sawed by us two slaves with a whipsaw.
Biography of a SlaveCharles Thompson
We sawed our boards with the whipsaw, and made our shingles out of the ash-trees.
Mary and IStephen Return Riggs
Spread this in as many pool-rooms as you can; get it all down on Whipsaw.
Young WallingfordGeorge Randolph Chester
At the quarter, three horses drew into the lead, Whipsaw just behind them.
Young WallingfordGeorge Randolph Chester
whipsaw
- any saw with a flexible blade, such as a bandsaw
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- to saw with a whipsaw
- US to defeat in two ways at once
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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