backwater
verbEtymology From back + water.
1
To row or paddle a backwater stroke.
2
Idiomatic To vacillate on a long-held position.
backwater
nounEtymology From back + water.
1
The water held back by a dam or other obstruction.
- […] The backwater separates the main line from Hinksey marshalling yards1956 May, “Beside a Thames Backwater”, in Railway Magazine, page unnumbered, frontispiece:
2
Figuratively, Idiomatic, Usually A remote place: somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc; any field of endeavor that figuratively resembles such a place.
- Near-synonyms: (place) jerkwater town, one-horse town, Podunk; see also Thesaurus:remote place
- an academic backwater
4 more examples
- Usually, however, this line, which once had a monopoly of all the traffic to Bournemouth, is a quiet backwater carrying a purely local traffic.1953 August, David R. Webb, “By Rail to Bournemouth”, in Railway Magazine, page 556:
- It's a volume for those who delight in exploring the backwaters of nineteenth-century opera.1978, National Opera Association –, The Opera Journal, page 29:
- Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.1979 October 12, Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, London: Pan Books, →ISBN:
- What was once the industrial heart of Uruguay is now a quiet riverside backwater where nothing much happens—the shops don't bother to open until midday and not at all if it's raining.2003 September 21, Tom Hall, “Sunset in a one-pie town”, in The Observer, →ISSN:
3
A rowing stroke in which the oar is pushed forward to stop the boat; see back water
4
Water used in the papermaking process. Recycled to reduce usage of fresh water, and usually containing residual amounts of chemicals and fibres.
- The back-water (overflow) can be used for "thinning down" the chests when emptying. If "Wastive" does this, his mind will be at ease regarding waste of pulp, and his machine-men will be happy and do their work much better than by trying to use all the back-water on the paper machine.1908, An Old Machineman, “Re Back-water Query.”, in The World's Paper Trade Review, page 14:
- Derived terms
- backwaterish