boomerang

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   Any of various traditional throwing sticks used for hunting or combat by Australian…

   Any of various traditional throwing sticks used for hunting or combat by Australian aborigines, including the symmetrical, crescent-shaped, type (the returning boomerang).

   • With boomerang and spear they hunted the kangaroo and emu, and fought their battles beneath the eucalyptus forests; their minds, fresh, untroubled, contented, oblivious alike of noble ideals and philosophic principles.
2. 2

   A flat curved airfoil that spins about an axis perpendicular to the direction of flight,…

   A flat curved airfoil that spins about an axis perpendicular to the direction of flight, originally used in various parts of the world as a hunting weapon or, in returnable types, for sports or training.

   • Before long, however, these pike-like devices were mostly superseded by spring-operated guns of various types. Most of them shot spinning disks, crosses, or small boomerangs of thin steel.
   • 1961, Charlie Drake, song, My Boomerang Won't Come Back, "Don't worry, boy, I know the trick, / And to you I'm gonna show it. / If you want your boomerang to come back, / Well first you've got to... throw it."
3. 3

   A breakdancing move in which the performer walks on their hands while keeping the legs…

   A breakdancing move in which the performer walks on their hands while keeping the legs raised off the ground.

4. ›+ 7 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      A boomerang kick.

   2. 5

      A device for changing the color of a followspot.

      • Roll: A live action changing from one color to another. Typically requires dexterity to "crossfade" between two colors in the boomerang with one hand while following with the other.
   3. 6

      The early return of an aircraft whose mission was aborted, often due to technical…

      The early return of an aircraft whose mission was aborted, often due to technical failures.

      • For quotations using this term, see Citations:boomerang.
   4. 7

      A cocktail made with rye whiskey and Swedish punsch.

   5. 8

      To return or rebound unexpectedly, especially when the result is undesired

      To return or rebound unexpectedly, especially when the result is undesired; to backfire.

      • "Well, there must be some flaw about this," I suggested. "If your magnet is so strong as all that, you would have your own broadside boomeranging back upon you."
      • In the opening, Pawn-grabbing expeditions or premature mating attacks are apt to boomerang.
   6. 9

      To travel in a curved path.

      • He said that to the horse as it boomeranged off again and broke away through the scrub.
   7. 10

      To abort a mission and return to base early.

      • For quotations using this term, see Citations:boomerang.

The neighborhood

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