sideswipe

noun, verb — 3 senses

sideswipe

noun

Etymology From side + swipe.

1

A blow with the side of something, such as the side of car that is changing lanes incautiously.

2

Figuratively A catty or sarcastic remark.

  • give a sideswipe
  • receive a sideswipe
1 more example
  • Calvin Harris's number-ten hit Acceptable in the 80s is both a wry sideswipe and a celebration of the scene;[…]2007 July 11, Chris Cottingham, “Electroclash was no flash in the pan”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 12 Oct 2023:

sideswipe

verb

Etymology From side + swipe.

1

To give a blow with the side, as to strike with the side of a car when turning.

  • As he turns left from Central into Jackson he nearly sideswipes a milk truck idling yards out from the kerb.1960, John Updike, Rabbit, Run, page 36:
  • In her haste, she sideswiped the 4x4 truck that was ahead of her as well as two other cars. “Help!” she yelled as she sped through the orange construction cones. “They're going to kill me!”2012, Curtis L. Alcutt, Fatal Intentions, page 175:
Derived terms
sideswiper

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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