drive-by meaning (informal): definition, quotations

drive-by

adj

/ˈdɹaɪvˌbaɪ/

Criminology, Human sciences, Law, Sciences Informal Of a crime, etc., carried out from a moving vehicle.

Figuratively Done in a cursory or superficial manner with little regard for the issues involved; careless, offhand.

If the highly visible mockery of teenagers leads to a serious examination of the practices and institutions that perpetuate racism, perhaps it will be worth it. But I have my doubts. This kind of drive-by scapegoating does not seem conducive to genuine reflection (and it definitely doesn't encourage reflection in the individuals it scapegoats). It allows us to point the finger at other, younger, relatively powerless people, rather than consider the ways in which we're implicated in a problem that is much, much larger than a few misguided teenagers on Twitter.2012 April 11, L. V. Anderson, “Talking to Teens Who Tweeted Racist Things About The Hunger Games”, in Slate, archived from the original on 02 Jun 2023:
But what hinders students far more than the technical side is Wikipedia's editing culture. Many of their contributions got reversed almost immediately, in what is known as a "drive-by deletion."2018 October 8, Dawn Bazely, “Why Nobel winner Donna Strickland didn’t have a Wikipedia page”, in The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 30 Mar 2023:

noun

Criminology, Human sciences, Law, Sciences Informal A crime, such as a shooting, carried out from a moving vehicle.