boomerang

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   an Australian Aboriginal curved throwing implement, some forms of which return toward the thrower when properly thrown

   The guide demonstrated how a returning boomerang curves through the air.

2. 2
   noun

   an action, plan, or argument that unexpectedly harms the person who initiated it

   The dishonest accusation became a political boomerang when the evidence was published.

3. 3
   verb

   to return unexpectedly or produce harmful consequences for its originator

   The attempt to suppress the report boomeranged and drew more attention to it.

Borrowed in colonial Australia from an Aboriginal language of the Sydney region; the precise source form and original analysis remain uncertain. Early English spellings were recorded around 1790. The figurative sense developed from the familiar returning flight of some boomerangs.

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