pullbackn.adj.
/ˈpʊlbak/, U.S. /ˈpʊlˌbæk/ A. n.
1. Something which pulls a person back; something which opposes progress or action; a retarding or hindering influence; a check, a setback. Cf. drawback n. 2a. Now rare (chiefly English regional and U.S. regional in later use).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > disappointment > [noun] > set-back
pullback1584
pull-down1588
throwback1856
the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > types or manners of hindrance > [noun] > hindering or retarding > that which or one who
delayer?1518
hold-back1581
pullback1584
tarriance1598
tarrier1622
retarder1644
checker1845
drag1857
liability1938
1584 J. Udall Obedience to Gospell sig. A3v Howe many pullbacks and hinderances were deuised, and be daily inuented, to stay the course thereof.
a1591 H. Smith Serm. on 1 Cor. ix. 24, in Wks. (1867) II. 98 Let us not fear all or any of our adversaries or pull-backs.
1648 I. Penington Touch Stone 27 All the pull backs in our selves, in the world, in our spirituall enemies, in the varieties of our conditions, which all almost distemper us.
1662 S. Pepys Diary 31 Dec. (1970) III. 302 I fear, when all is done, I must be forced to maintain my father myself..which will be a very great pull-backe to me in my fortune.
a1680 S. Charnock Several Disc. Existence of God (1682) 528 Were it not for his Restraints by the pull-back of Conscience, and infus'd Motions and outward Impediments, the World would swarm more with this Cursed Brood.
1710 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 21 Oct. (1948) I. 65 Your disorders are a pull-back for your good qualities.
1741 S. Richardson Pamela III. xxxvii. 354 Which (having expended much to relieve her) was a great Pull-back, as the good old Woman called it.
1833 S. Smith Life & Writings Major Jack Downing 203 This ere sickness of the President has been a bad pull-back to us.
1857 J. G. Holland Bay-path xiv. 155 If there's any way for me to 'arn her living, without kickin' up a dust in the plantation and being a pull-back to her, I want to get my foot into it and foller it.
1872 W. H. Sylvis in J. C. Sylvis Life W. H. Sylvis 453 This..gave a ‘pull-back’ to the cause, which renders our labors more arduous today.
1920 Kansas City (Missouri) Star 18 Sept. 12/1 Finally progress conquered in spite of all the pullbacks, and the park and boulevard system was set under way.
2001 C. Chinn & S. Thorne Proper Brummie 135 Pullback, a hindrance; a disadvantage or drawback.
2.
a. The action or an act of pulling back (in various senses).Apparently rare before late 19th cent.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impelling or driving > pushing and pulling > [noun] > pulling > pulling back
retrahing1497
retraction1528
retracting1603
revulsion1609
pullback1671
1671 J. Dryden Evening's Love Epil. In the French stoop; and the pull-back oth' arm.
1871 N.-Y. Times 22 July 5/1 The Brown stroke..is a long reach forward, a pull back with straight arms and straight back, and a quick recover.
1881 S. B. Warner Let. of Credit xxviii. 458 There came a great heart-leap of joy at this suggestion, but with it came also a vague pull-back of doubt.
1900 G. Swift Somerley 146 An occasional wrench and pull-back of the arms gave him considerable pain.
1903 A. Maclaren Last Sheaves ii. 21 There is very little conscious check or pull-back when we contemplate doing them again.
1968 Jrnl. Pediatrics 73 739/1 The only complication encountered in this series resulted from rupture of the balloon during the pullback through the foramen ovale.
1990 Fortune Dec. 24/2 There is no sign of a consumer pullback.
b. Originally U.S. A withdrawal of military troops or police.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military operations > manoeuvre > [noun] > retreat
retreat1523
retire1548
retract1553
back-march1577
dismarch1600
dismarching1635
skedaddle1870
pullback1943
1943 Washington Post 1 Aug. 2 m/3 Italian troops were reported today to be evacuating Greece in an urgent pullback toward the home front.
1950 Long Beach (Calif.) Press-Telegram 11 Aug. a6/7 Reports of the Red pull-back came as the U.S. 35th Regimental Combat Team occupied high ground east of the city Friday.
1971 Times 13 Apr. 1/7 After an initial pull-back of national police from outlying posts in many rural areas [of Ceylon] security forces were now said to be moving back.
2003 Independent 1 July 1/2 The pullback—first in Gaza, and in Bethlehem and other West Bank towns later this week—is part of the American-backed peace plan.
c. Film. A shot in which the scene appears to recede (originally as a result of the camera being pulled back).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > cinematography > filming > shot > [noun] > types of
long shot1858
glass shot1908
close-up1913
aerial shot1920
angle shot1922
medium shot1925
far-away1926
travelling shot1927
zoom1930
zoom shot1930
process shot1931
close-medium shot1933
medium close-up1933
reverse angle1933
reverse shot1934
three-shot1934
tilt shot1934
medium-close shot1937
reaction shot1937
tracking shot1940
pan shot1941
stock shot1941
Dutch angle1947
cheat shot1948
establishing shot1948
master-scene1948
trucking shot1948
two-shot1949
bridging shot1951
body shot1952
library shot1953
master shot1953
mid shot1953
MS1953
pullback1957
MCU1959
noddy1982
arc shot1989
pop shot1993
1957 A. R. Manvell & J. Huntley Technique Film Music ii. 34 Long track, mostly in medium or medium-close shot, with one large pull-back during the market-place scene.
1977 Listener 5 May 590/1 Will Frayn appear next time..on the end of a zoom-in or a pull back?
2003 Boards (Nexis) 1 Apr. 34 Each of the six spots end with a pullback from the top of [a] Hummer to a shot of the Earth.
d. Dance. A step in tap-dancing in which the foot taps the floor while the dancer moves backwards through the air.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > dancing > movements or steps > [noun] > step > tap-dance step
time step1929
pullback1957
1957 P. Draper in Dance Mag. May 60/3 A pull-back is a tap made by the front part of the foot striking the floor while the body is in the air moving backwards.
1975 New Yorker 7 July 26/3 A wonderful tap dance—a series of time steps, pullbacks, flaps..and pickups.
2002 Dayton (Ohio) Daily News (Nexis) 23 May 7 c Dancers need to be able to execute paddles, pullbacks and wings. Auditions will be at 6 p.m. today and Friday.
e. Business (originally Stock Market). A temporary dip in the price of a commodity, or in a market generally. Also: a stock or commodity undergoing such a dip.
ΚΠ
1967 Los Angeles Times 22 Jan. h7/2 The basic thread of stock prices remains strong, but there are some indications that prices may be temporarily over-bought and a short compensatory pullback, or consolidation, may be in order.
1970 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 26 Sept. b1/7 Many managers having missed the steep price rise in August..waited in vain for a substantial pullback to do some buying.
1980 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 10 July d1/6 The new flurry of reductions..is the first broad pullback in gasoline prices for competitive reasons since well before the revolution in Iran.
1996 Business Week 26 Feb. 93/3 Traders should be ready to quickly buy pullbacks.
2002 Shares 3 Oct. 17/1 In terms of volatility though, last month was the big one for these shares with a pullback to 42p preceding the latest break-out through the highs.
3. † a. A component of a device, mechanism, etc., which may be pulled back, or which allows something to be pulled back. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > mechanism > [noun] > part of > other parts
tumbler1624
tirl1691
pullback1703
gadget1885
loop1912
doojigger1927
1703 R. Neve City & Countrey Purchaser 100 Smiths in London ask'd me 6d. per Pound for Casements.., if they made them with Turn-bouts..or Cock-spurs, and Pull backs at the Hind-side to pull them to with.
1734 W. Salmon Palladio Londinensis i. vi. 70/2 Iron Rimmed Locks are of sundry Sorts, viz. once Dead, twice Dead, with Pull-backs, with Brass Knobs, [etc.].
b. Originally U.S. A dress or skirt in which the material is pulled to the back so that the material at the front hangs smooth and flat; (also) the gathering of material at the back of such a garment. Frequently attributive. Now rare (historical in later use).
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > clothing for lower body > skirt > parts of > other
gorea1250
placard1549
pannier1796
pullback1870
1870 J. J. McCloskey & O. D. Byron Across Continent in L. Grover et al. Davy Crockett & Other Plays (1940) 95 There was one [lady] in particular whom he was very devoted to... She had lemon-colored hair and a pull-back, so.
1875 Fort Wayne (Indiana) Daily Sentinel 5 June The pull-back style of ladies' dresses excites the enthusiastic admiration of a lady correspondent of the Indianapolis Herald.
1885 ‘Tic Roma’ St. Peter & Cock xvi. 210 She laid her scissors on the pull-back.
1890 Standard 10 Mar. As for the ‘pull-back’, it seems to be on the wane, not so much because it was a hindrance to progression, but because it did not suit more than a small minority of figures.
1916 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald 15 Oct. 5/4 A young woman in the height of style of that period, including the then fashionable ‘pullback’ dress.
1932 Los Angeles Times 13 Sept. iv.10/7 The much-publicized bustle probably will fail to materialize, but the same effect will be achieved with a variation of the old pull-back of the 1880 period.
B. adj. (attributive).
That may be pulled back; designating or involving a mechanism designed to be pulled back.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > backward movement > [adjective] > capable of being drawn back
retractile1879
pullback1924
1924 Woodland (Calif.) Daily Democrat 9 May 1/6 It is alleged that the machine had a weak pull-back spring and a sprung cable hook and no curve to hold the cable.
1947 J. L. Daniels & O. R. Johnson in P. I. Smith Pract. Plastics xv. 207/1 The term side ram is sometimes erroneously applied to the push-back or pull-back rams on double-acting presses.
1985 Christie's Sale Catal. Mod. & Vintage Firearms 20 Mar. 32 ‘Second Patent’ single-bite snap-action with pull-back top-slide, non-rebounding sidelocks.
2004 Cutting Technol. (Nexis) 1 July 18 The straight pull-back action of the QwikSlide system on already-clamped jaws allows easy realignment on repeat jobs.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.1584