This week’s theme
Is it a noun or a verb? Both!

This week’s words
windbag
rizz
deadname
gundeck
sandbag

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(SAND-bag)

MEANING:

noun:	A bag filled with sand.
verb tr.:	1. To fortify a position.
	2. To thwart.
	3. To coerce.
	4. To treat unfairly or harshly.
	5. To give an unpleasant surprise; to blindside.
verb intr.:	To conceal one’s position in order to gain an advantage.

ETYMOLOGY:

From sand + bag. Earliest documented use: noun: 1561, verb: 1838.

NOTES:

A sandbag is heavy, simple, and reliable, which helps explain its semantic range. Literally, it fortifies positions against floods or gunfire. Figuratively, it can mean to obstruct, bully, or ambush. In competition, to sandbag is to understate one’s ability in order to gain an advantage later. Same object, different pressure.

For 19th-century street gangs, a sock filled with sand was a favorite weapon. It could knock someone out without leaving a mark (unlike a club), making it a favorite for “coercing” victims or robbing them.

USAGE:

“Multiple MPs from across the factions are understood to have met Mr. [Mark] Speakman on Thu afternoon to warn him he had lost their support. A series of scheduled media interviews as he tried to sandbag his position were abruptly cancelled.”
First-Term MP Tipped to Lead State Libs; The Australian (Canberra); Nov 21, 2025.

“The Fiscal Responsibility Act attempted to ensure that no future government would be sandbagged by massive deficits.”
Luke Malpass; The Reluctant Reformer; The Post (Wellington, New Zealand); Oct 17, 2025.

See more usage examples of sandbag in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: