whipsaw

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a long narrow saw, commonly worked by two people using a handle at each end

   Two workers used a whipsaw to cut the log into boards.

2. 2
   verb

   to cut wood with a whipsaw

   They whipsawed pine trunks into planks beside the camp.

3. 3
   verb

   to subject someone to sharp reversals, opposing pressures, or losses from both directions

   Rapid price swings whipsawed traders throughout the week.

A compound of whip + saw, named for the long blade's forceful back-and-forth motion. The verb first meant cutting with the tool and later developed figurative senses involving repeated reversals or pressure from two sides.

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