Whipsaw
Pronunciation: \hwip-so, wip-saw\
Function: noun
Date: 15th century
: a narrow pit saw averaging 5 to 7 1/2 feet (1.5 to 2.3 meters) in lengthFunction: transitive verb
Date: 1842
1 : to saw with a whipsaw
2 : to beset or victimize in two opposite ways at once, by a two-phase operation, or by the collusive action of two opponents
gauche adj \'gõsh\
Definition of gauche
1.
a : lacking social experience or grace; also : not tactful : crude
b : crudely made or done
Examples of gauche
-Would it be gauche of me to ask her how old she is?
-His loud talking at the opera marked him as gauche and uncultured.
-Among élite scientists, it was usually considered gauche to be obsessed with anything so tangible or immediate: brilliant discoveries were supposed to percolate. —Michael Specter, New Yorker, 3 Dec. 2007
-We were suburban housewives and mothers. As poets we took a respectful backseat to the male poets. We did not talk about our husbands and children in public; that would have been gauche indeed. —Maxine Kumin, In Deep, 1987