white-antv.
/ˈwʌɪtant/, U.S. /ˈ(h)waɪdˌænt/, Australian English /ˈ(h)wɑetænt/, /ˈ(h)wɑedænt/ slang (chiefly Australian).
transitive. To destroy in the manner of termites or white ants; to destroy, undermine, or sabotage. Frequently in political contexts.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > cause or effect (harm) [verb (transitive)] > do harm or injury to > gradually or secretly
undergoc1000
minec1422
undercreepa1440
cankera1450
undermine1565
cankerfret1585
sap1711
honeycomb1821
white-ant1905
submarine1917
sabotage1918
undercut1955
monkeywrench1986
1905 W. E. W. MacKinlay Handbk. & Gram. Tagalog Lang. 126 The books were destroyed by the white ants (were white-anted).
1925 Glasgow Herald 14 Nov. 9/6 The extremists..have deliberately ‘white-anted’ the Labour movement..and squandered the funds of the wealthy unions.
1949 Pacific Islands Monthly Nov. 67/1 Creech Jones and company are white-anting local charm and character.
1962 R. Wallis Point of Origin 96 He decided he'd have to do his duty as a gentleman and tell Rockdale he was being white-anted.
2009 ABC Premium Newswire (Austral.) (Nexis) 7 Dec. Deposed leaders reserve the right to white-ant their usurpers.
Derivatives
white-ˈanted adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > [adjective] > harmed or affected detrimentally > gradually or secretly
white-anted1937
1937 E. Hill Great Austral. Loneliness xli. 304 Murramurie will cheerfully rig herself out in a white-anted flour-bag if necessary.
1973 R. Park Compan. Guide Sydney vii. 221 Cedar joinery has largely replaced the white-anted American redwood.
2013 N.Z. Herald (Nexis) 17 June You can put a lick of paint on a haunted house but it'll still be the rat-infested, white-anted haunted house that it was before.
white-ˈanting n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > [noun] > action > secretly
mining1645
undermining1904
sabotage1910
sabotaging1923
white-anting1930
monkeywrenching1983
1930 H. Redcliffe Yellow Cygnet 46 He was in no error in regard to the upright character of the young man, and that it would require much ‘white-anting’ and the use of insidious and convincing argument to undermine his integrity.
1958 A. Moorehead Russ. Revol. xiv. 267 A good deal of the white-anting had been done before daybreak.
1985 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) (Nexis) 7 Sept. The political play-off..can amount to the deliberate white-anting of national growth.
2013 Daily Tel. (Austral.) (Nexis) 6 Sept. 97 His constant white-anting of her leadership.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2015; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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