whackn.
/wak/, U.S. /(h)wæk/ colloquial.
1.
a. A vigorous stroke with a stick or the like; a heavy resounding blow; also the sound of this.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > sound of blow or fall > [noun]
smitea1200
smita1425
yark1555
riprapc1580
brattlea1600
verberation1609
whack1737
whang1770
swash1789
plunk1809
tack1821
pong1823
snop1849
thunge1849
knap1870
thung1890
pow1931
thunk1952
bonk1957
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific degree of force > [noun] > hard or vigorous striking > a hard or vigorous blow
rackc1300
pelta1540
sparring-blowa1690
racket1710
whack1737
skite1825
slogger1829
slug1830
swinger1836
slog1846
crump1850
bitch slap1987
1737 A. Ramsay Coll. Scots Prov. (1750) 13 As sair greets the bairn that's paid at e'en, as he that gets his whawks in the morning.
1823 E. Moor Suffolk Words 477 Whack, a blow, a thump.
1832 J. Barrington Personal Sketches Own Times III. 242 I never saw..any dangerous contusion from what they called ‘whacks’ of the shillelah.
1843 R. S. Surtees Handley Cross III. xii. 292 Bill gave the boy two or three more hearty whacks, and then kicked him into the hosier's shop.
1860 W. M. Thackeray Lovel v Bessy's ‘Ah!’ or little cry was followed by a whack, which I heard as clear as anything I ever heard in my life.
b. to have or take a whack at: to make an attempt or attack upon. U.S.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > attempt [verb (transitive)]
fandOE
assayc1300
tryc1315
provec1330
adventurea1387
sayc1390
paina1400
havec1400
practisea1450
afforcec1487
afond1488
attempta1538
procure1574
endeavour1581
offer1611
poacha1616
attent1620
to venture at1623
essay1641
attentate1656
smacka1657
tempt1697
to try at1794
to have a go1802
to make a (good, poor, etc.) fist1833
tackle1847
to have or take a whack at1891
to make (or have, etc.) a stab at (something)1895
to have a dash (at)1916
1891 Boston (Mass.) Jrnl. 22 June 2/2 There are thousands..who..are anxious to have a whack, at the polls, at the party that deceived them.
1894 Advance (Chicago) 20 Dec. 418/1 Mother's got over her long weak spell, and is able to take a whack at doings.
2.
a. A portion, share, allowance; esp. a full share, a large portion or amount.Chiefly in to get one's whack, have one's whack, take one's whack.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > giving > distributing or dealing out > an allotted share, portion, or part > [noun]
dealc825
lotOE
dolea1225
partc1300
portion?1316
sort1382
parcelc1400
skiftc1400
pane1440
partagec1450
shift1461
skair1511
allotment1528
snapshare1538
share1539
slice1548
fee1573
snap1575
moiety1597
snatch1601
allotterya1616
proportiona1616
symbol1627
dealth1637
quantum1649
cavelc1650
snip1655
sortition1671
snack1683
quota1688
contingency1723
snick1723
contingent1728
whack1785
divvy1872
end1903
bite1925
the mind > possession > taking > taken [verb (intransitive)] > take one's share
take one's whack1830
to stand one's corner1930
1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue Whack, a share of a booty obtained by fraud.
1790 A. Wilson Poems 91 Whauks o' gude ait-far'le cowins, Synt down wi' whey.
1805 C. Paget in P. Papers (1896) II. 162 My whack of prize money..will be about fifty thousand Pounds.
1830 F. Marryat King's Own II. xiv. 218 ‘I'll punish the Port to-morrow.’... ‘I'll take my whack to-day.’
1874 Hotten's Slang Dict. (rev. ed.) 338 To go whacks, to divide equally; to enter into partnership.
1894 J. D. Astley Fifty Years of my Life II. 119 He could not trust himself to take a fair whack of liquor without taking too much.
1918 Blackwood's Mag. July 43/2 I've had a run for my money this whack of leave.
b. A dividing up of accounts. Also more generally, a sharing-up or distribution.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > giving > distributing or dealing out > [noun] > dividing and sharing out
partingc1330
departinga1340
divisionc1380
partition1429
departison1444
dividentc1450
skiftingc1450
partage1484
portiona1513
departition?c1530
dividend1535
portioning1556
reparting1574
repartment1574
parcery1582
sharing1598
apportion1628
compartition1636
department1677
dividing1719
whacking1851
partitionment1864
divide1873
share-out1877
whack1885
sharesies1916
carve-up1935
society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > [noun] > specific processes
allowance1528
allocation1535
writing1732
liquidating1749
set-off1766
write-back1873
whack1885
clear-up1901
virement1902
accrual accounting1915
writedown1920
accruals accounting1963
cookie jar1975
1885 W. T. Hornaday Two Years in Jungle xxiv. 284 When the Colombo rice merchants, shopmen, the hotel-keepers have their quarterly ‘whack-up’ with the government.
1896 G. Ade Artie xii. 107 He hadn't been in on the whack-up six weeks till he was wearing one o' them bicycle lamps in his neck-tie.
1912 R. A. Wason Friar Tuck xi. 107 ‘What ya goin' to kill her with?’ he asked, his eyes dancin' like an Injun's at the beef whack-up.
c. U.S. A bargain or agreement. Esp. in it's (or that's) a whack.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > agreement > it's agreed [phrase]
it's (or that's) a whack1860
you're on1933
1860 Johnson's Orig. Comic Songs (ed. 2) 45 I axed her for to marry me, she said it was a whack.
1876 ‘M. Twain’ Adventures Tom Sawyer vi. 70 ‘I'll stay if you will.’ ‘Good—that's a whack.’
1884 J. Hay Bread-winners x. 149 Say the word, and it's a whack.
1903 A. D. McFaul Ike Glidden in Maine xviii. 146 ‘I'll guarantee to get him to take you to Grand Menan with him.’ ‘It's a whack,’ said Jim.
1911 Dial. Notes 3 540 Whack,..an agreement, a ‘go’; e.g., ‘That's a whack!’
3. As int. or adv.: With a whack (in sense 1).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > violent action or operation > [adverb] > and suddenly
swap1672
slam1726
smack1782
whack1812
wham1924
wham-bam1956
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > sound of blow or fall > [adverb] > smack or slap
smackingly1598
smack1782
spank1810
whack1812
spat1890
splat1897
splacka1960
1812 H. Smith & J. Smith Rejected Addr. 90 Jill..bobbs plump against him, whack!
1836 F. Marryat Mr. Midshipman Easy I. v. 50 Whack came the cane on Johnny's shoulders.
1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's School Days i. ii. 40 Whack, whack, whack, come his blows.
4. out of whack: disordered, malfunctioning; out of order or alignment. Cf. wacky adj. Chiefly U.S.
a. Of a person or a part of the body.
ΚΠ
1885 C. A. Siringo Texas Cow Boy v. 33 I was too weak to walk that far on account of my back being out of whack.
1899 G. Ade Doc' Horne viii. 79 My stomach seems to be out of whack.
1903 A. M. Binstead Pitcher in Paradise vi. 146 At last he utterly gets his thinker out of whack an' goes back to the villa.
1918 H. A. Vachell Some Happenings xii. 205 His liver is out of whack and no mistake.
1969 ‘V. Packer’ Don't rely on Gemini (1970) xviii. 150 Margaret had had symptoms of early menopause last winter: that had thrown her way out of whack, could conceivably explain such erratic and erotic behaviour.
b. Of a mechanism.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > [adjective] > specific modes of action or operation > faulty > of a mechanism
out of whack1906
onkus1941
hinky1961
1906 McClure's Mag. Feb. 34 Being able to get at any part of the mechanism which may be ‘out of whack’ is important.
1934 D. Hammett Thin Man xi. 77 The phone in the apartment was out of whack.
1949 Time 30 May 53/2 With normal vibration a lot of them would have gone out of whack.
1975 New Yorker 28 Apr. 40/3 He sends no message on the tape recorder to the little boys, because they have already put the machine out of whack.
1985 Mail on Sunday 3 Mar. (Colour Suppl.) 20/2 The body's like an automobile. You have to rest and repair it, not run with the motor out of whack.
c. figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > [adjective] > specific modes of action or operation > faulty
defectious?1566
dysfunctional1936
out of whack1952
malfunctioning1966
Brummie1978
1952 C. Armstrong Black-eyed Stranger xiv. 117 Ambielli's got principles. They are a little off, slightly out of whack.
1973 in G. Gibson Eleven Canad. Novelists 123 I don't know whether it is because my own sense of sexual timing or whatever is out of ‘whack’ with everybody else's.
1975 M. Amis Dead Babies v. 33 Everything is out of whack at Appleseed Rectory; its rooms are without bearing and without certainty.
1978 S. Brill Teamsters vi. 250 In the next decade..the bad loans and poor investment management would..start to throw the cash-flow projections out of whack.
Draft additions 1993
b. figurative. A chance, a turn or attempt; a ‘go’. Originally and chiefly U.S.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > [noun] > an attempt
tastec1330
assayc1386
proffera1400
proof?a1400
pluck?1499
saymenta1500
minta1522
attemptate1531
attempt1548
attemption1565
say1568
trice1579
offer1581
fling1590
tempt1597
essay1598
trial1614
tentative1632
molition1643
conamen1661
put1661
tentamen1673
conatus1722
shot1756
go1784
ettle1790
shy1824
hack1830
try1832
pop1839
slap1840
venture1842
stagger1865
flutter1874
whack1884
whirl1884
smack1889
swipe1892
buck1913
lash1941
wham1957
play1961
1884 Cent. Mag. Nov. 60/2 Lucky whack it was for me that I got here to-day, and in time to save the mine!
1941 J. Stuart Men of Mountains 168 Hang around and watch people flock in at a quarter a whack to see this tonight.
1958 J. Cannan And be Villain i. 24 Mrs Fitch always lays the tea before she goes and it maddened Richard to have her popping in and out and leaving the door open. Now it all comes at one whack, you see.
1988 Muscular Devel. Nov. 55/1 Many fitness and sports medicine clinics use hydrostatic weighing or skinfold techniques..and..this can become expensive at $25–$40 a whack.
Draft additions 1993
d. top or (the) full whack, the maximum price or rate.
ΚΠ
1976 Drive Nov. 50/1 The 1.3s have a reasonable turn of speed, too: top whack is 86mph.
1978 N. J. Crisp London Deal vii. 113 ‘That car..is worth at least fifteen hundred.’ ‘Not to me... A thousand. Top whack... Have we got a deal?’
1985 Times 25 May 21/4 The company admits that it paid top whack for its high street stores.
1989 Money Observer Jan. 63/4 Payments then rise by 5.0 per cent a year, so you pay the full whack after eight or nine years.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1923; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
whackv.
/wak/, U.S. /(h)wæk/ colloquial.
1. absolute or intransitive.1852 C. W. Day Five Year's Resid. W. Indies I. 304 Whacking away, I finally severed his head from his body.1898 M. M. Dowie Crook of Bough xxiii Her tough tweeds whacked on the ivory lintel.
a. transitive. To beat or strike vigorously, as with a stick; to thrash.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > corporal punishment > administer corporal punishment [verb (transitive)] > beat
threshOE
beatc1000
to lay on?c1225
chastise1362
rapa1400
dressc1405
lack?c1475
paya1500
currya1529
coil1530
cuff1530
baste1533
thwack1533
lick1535
firka1566
trounce1568
fight1570
course1585
bumfeage1589
feague1589
lamback1589
lambskin1589
tickle1592
thrash1593
lam1595
bumfeagle1598
comb1600
fer1600
linge1600
taw1600
tew1600
thrum1604
feeze1612
verberate1614
fly-flap1620
tabor1624
lambaste1637
feak1652
flog1676
to tan (a person's) hide1679
slipper1682
liquora1689
curry-comb1708
whack1721
rump1735
screenge1787
whale1790
lather1797
tat1819
tease1819
larrup1823
warm1824
haze1825
to put (a person) through a course of sprouts1839
flake1841
swish1856
hide1875
triangle1879
to give (a person or thing) gyp1887
soak1892
to loosen (a person's) hide1902
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific degree of force > strike with specific degree of force [verb (intransitive)] > hard or vigorously
whack1721
rip1898
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific degree of force > strike with specific degree of force [verb (transitive)] > strike hard or vigorously
dingc1300
knock1377
thwack1533
stoter1690
sock1699
whack1721
slog1824
whither1825
drub1849
thack1861
slug1862
dang1866
whomp1973
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific thing > strike with specific thing [verb (intransitive)] > vigorously with an instrument
whack1721
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific thing > strike with specific thing [verb (transitive)] > strike with an object > vigorously
whack1721
1721 Ramsay's Poems I. Gloss.
1741 S. Richardson Pamela III. xxxiii. 334 Many and many a good time have I whacked the Rascal's Jacket.
1846 A. Smith Christopher Tadpole (1848) Prel. The sheriffs..whacked each other soundly with their wands.
1897 M. Kingsley Trav. W. Afr. 225 When the husband loses his temper,..he whacks his wife.
b. figurative. To beat in a contest.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > mastery or superiority > have or gain mastery or superiority over [verb (transitive)] > overcome or defeat
shendc893
overwinOE
overheaveOE
mate?c1225
to say checkmatea1346
vanquishc1366
stightlea1375
outrayc1390
to put undera1393
forbeat1393
to shave (a person's) beardc1412
to put to (also at, unto) the (also one's) worsec1425
adawc1440
supprisec1440
to knock downc1450
to put to the worsta1475
waurc1475
convanquish1483
to put out1485
trima1529
convince1548
foil1548
whip1571
evict1596
superate1598
reduce1605
convict1607
defail1608
cast1610
banga1616
evince1620
worst1646
conquer1655
cuffa1657
trounce1657
to ride down1670
outdo1677
routa1704
lurcha1716
fling1790
bowl1793
lick1800
beat1801
mill1810
to row (someone) up Salt River1828
defeat1830
sack1830
skunk1832
whop1836
pip1838
throw1850
to clean out1858
take1864
wallop1865
to sock it to1877
whack1877
to clean up1888
to beat out1893
to see off1919
to lower the boom on1920
tonk1926
clobber1944
ace1950
to run into the ground1955
1877 F. Ross et al. Gloss. Words Holderness (at cited word) Ah can whack him onny day at sums.
2. transferred and figurative. Substituted for ‘put’, ‘bring’, ‘get’, etc., with implication of vigorous or violent action; cf. to knock up at knock v. Phrasal verbs.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > carry on vigorously [verb (transitive)]
driveOE
to drive through1523
push1561
urge1565
to fall aboard1642
whack1719
beef1860
the world > space > place > placing or fact of being placed in (a) position > place or put in a position [verb (transitive)] > forcibly, firmly, or quickly > vigorously or violently
whack1719
1719 A. Ramsay 3rd Answer to Hamilton viii Why should we..thole sae aft the Spleen to whauk us Out of our Reason?
1861 J. Barr Poems 154 (E.D.D.) A rotten stump my brain had rackit..Till Doctor Manning oot did whack it.
1872 C. King Mountaineering in Sierra Nevada x. 219 If I design to paint a head, or a foot, or an arm, I get my little old Sarah Jane to peel the particular charm, and just whack her in on the canvas.
1897 R. Kipling Captains Courageous v. 115 When they whacked up a match 'twix' his sister Hitty an' Lorin' Jerauld.
1903 R. Kipling Their Lawful Occas. i, in Traffics & Discov. 117 Can we whack her [sc. a torpedo-boat] up to fifteen, d'you think?
3. [See whack n. 2] To share, divide. Also with up.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > giving > distributing or dealing out > distribute or deal out [verb (transitive)] > divide into shares > divide and share out
dealc1000
shiftc1000
to-partc1325
partc1330
departa1340
divide1377
portion?a1400
dressc1410
parcel1416
skiftc1420
describe1535
repart1540
sever1548
disparklea1552
enterparten1556
share1577
to share out1583
repartitec1603
dispart1629
parcena1641
cavel1652
partage1660
split1674
snack1675
partition1740
scantle1749
appart1798
whack1819
divvy1877
number1887
cut1928
1819 J. H. Vaux New Vocab. Flash Lang. in Memoirs II. 223 Wack, to share or divide any thing equally.
1821 Life D. Haggart (ed. 2) 94 We got twenty-two screaves by this adventure, which we whacked.
1888 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms xlviii We hadn't much trouble dividing the gold, and what cash there was we could whack easy enough.
1893 H. A. Shands Some Peculiarities Speech Mississippi 77 Whack up, an expression employed by all classes, probably as semi-slang, to mean to divide, to share.
1961 Coast to Coast 1959–60 126 I'll whack up the breakfast, then, and see how poor bloody Bill's getting on.
1981 Amer. Speech 56 27 The DARE project has turned up whack it up, whack up (two informants for each).
4. intransitive. With off: to masturbate. U.S. slang.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > masturbation > masturbate [verb (intransitive)]
frig1598
mastuprate1623
masturbate1839
to jerk off1865
rub1902
to rub up1902
wank1905
to jack off1916
to pull one's (or the) pud (also pudding, wire, etc.)1927
to toss off1927
to play pocket billiards1940
to beat one's meat1948
to wank off1951
whack1969
to choke the chicken1975
fap2001
1969 P. Roth Portnoy's Complaint 78 Did I mention that when I was fifteen I took it out of my pants and whacked off on the 107 bus from New York?
1969 Listener 17 Apr. 538/3 Fellatio with the Monkey does not present the same practical difficulties as whacking off in Momma's bathroom.
1977 Transatlantic Rev. No. 60. 36 ‘What-in-hell you do for sex anyway?’ he asked the boy one night. ‘Whack off into the tin pot where they keep the mashed potatoes?’
Draft additions June 2004
transitive. slang (originally and chiefly U.S.). Chiefly among members of the criminal underworld, esp. the Mafia: to murder, esp. to execute. Also with out.
ΚΠ
1973 V. Teresa & T. C. Renner My Life in Mafia iv. 48 They couldn't let a punk like him defy them... So they whacked him out and everyone fell in line after that.
1976 P. Hoffman & I. Pecznick To drop a Dime (1977) 40 We'll take him in his car and whack him.
1985 N. Pileggi Wiseguy 231 I told him that if Jimmy wanted to whack me out, he could walk right in the front door, borrow a gun from one of the guards, blow me away in my cell, and walk out without being stopped.
1992 Times 12 Mar. 10/3 Hitting..the sister of another mobster-turncoat..broke the ancient rule that wiseguys do not whack women.
1998 N.Y. Mag. 13 Apr. 34 The kid got whacked after his father slapped..the Gambino underboss.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1923; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1737v.1719