Word of the Day sandbag

Word of the Day

• sandbag
• 
• \SAND-bag\

• DEFINITION

verb

1

: to bank, stop up, or weight with sandbags

2

a : to hit or stun with or as if with a sandbagb : to treat unfairly or harshlyc : to coerce by crude meansd : to conceal or misrepresent one's true position, potential, or intent especially in order to take advantage of : to hide the truth about oneself so as to gain an advantage over another

• EXAMPLES

Several employees indicated that they felt they had beensandbagged and were considering filing complaints.

"Central Florida Top Recruits coach Keiwan Ratliff acknowledged that a few teams were likely sandbagging during Saturday's pool play in the IMG Regional 7-on-7 tournament." — From an article by Corey Long in the Orlando Sentinel, April 21, 2013

• DID YOU KNOW?

In the 19th century, the verb "sandbag" began to be used to describe the act of bludgeoning someone with a small, sand-filled bag—a tactic employed by ruffians, usually as a prelude to robbing their victims. The verb went on to develop metaphorical extensions, such as "to coerce by crude means." By the 1940s, it was being used of a strategy in which a poker player with a good hand bets weakly, in order to draw other players into holding on to their hands and raising the bet. The use of "sandbag" has since evolved to refer to a general strategy of playing down one's position in order to gain some sort of advantage.

Read more at http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/#pb3oQajxfCho71Tk.99