whips

v. t. 1. To saw with the whipsaw. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

2. To defeat in, or cause to lose, two different bets at the same turn or in one play, as a player at faro who has made two bets at the same time, one that a card will lose and another that a different card will win; hence, to defeat in spite of every effort. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

3. to cause to suffer a setback or losses by subjecting to two forces at the same time or in rapid succession; as, consumers were whipsawed by both inflation and higher sales taxes. [ PJC ]

4. (Finance) to cause to suffer a series of losses in trading when buying and selling at the wrong times in a rapidly fluctuating market; -- especially used when an attempt is made, by selling short, to recover losses from a long purchase in a declining market, and the short sale also results in a loss when the market subsequently rises. Used mostly in the passive; as, to be whipsawed by exaggerated responses to a changing outlook. [ PJC ]

n. (Naut.) A bar attached to the tiller, for convenience in steering. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A whipstock. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Whip + -ster. ] A nimble little fellow; a whippersnapper. [ 1913 Webster ]

Every puny whipster gets my sword. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Whip handle; whipstock. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. (Agric.) To rafter; to plow in ridges, as land. [ Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To sew by passing the thread over and over; to overcast; whip. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ 1913 Webster ]

1. A tailor; -- so called in contempt. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Anything hastily put or stitched together; hence, a hasty composition. [ R. ] Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Agric.) The act or process of whipstitching. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A small bit; esp., a small interval of time; an instant; a minute. [ Dial. or Colloq. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]