boomerang

plural boomerangs

1. Any of various traditional throwing sticks used for hunting or combat by Australian aborigines, including the symmetrical, crescent-shaped, type (the returning boomerang).

   With boomerang and spear they hunted the kangaroo and emu, and fought their battles beneath the eucalyptus forests; their minds, fresh, untroubled, contented, oblivious alike of noble ideals and philosophic principles.

   1897, Warren Bert Kimberly, History of West Australia

   1 more example

   Some resemblance to terrestrial things, it is true, everyone can behold in the heavens. Corona, for example, is like a crown, or, as the Australian black fellows know, it is like a boomerang, and we can understand why they give it the name of that curious curved missile.

   1884, Andrew Lang, “Star Myths”, in Custom and Myth

   Synonyms: kylie

2. A flat curved airfoil that spins about an axis perpendicular to the direction of flight, originally used in various parts of the world as a hunting weapon or, in returnable types, for sports or training.

   1961, Charlie Drake, song, My Boomerang Won't Come Back, "Don't worry, boy, I know the trick, / And to you I'm gonna show it. / If you want your boomerang to come back, / Well first you've got to... throw it."

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   Before long, however, these pike-like devices were mostly superseded by spring-operated guns of various types. Most of them shot spinning disks, crosses, or small boomerangs of thin steel.

   1951, John Wyndham, The Day of the Triffids, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, published 1954, page 43

3. A breakdancing move in which the performer walks on their hands while keeping the legs raised off the ground.
4. Australian rules footballball gamesA boomerang kick.
5. entertainmentA device for changing the color of a followspot.

   Roll: A live action changing from one color to another. Typically requires dexterity to "crossfade" between two colors in the boomerang with one hand while following with the other.

   2013, Steven Louis Shelley, A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting

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   If you are spot one you should push down on the first lever on the boomerang to load frame one. Spot two should do the same with frame five. On the go, both spot ops should run their dowser levers to bring the light up on the target specified by the cue caller.

   2013, John Holloway, Illustrated Theatre Production Guide, page 144

6. RAF slangThe early return of an aircraft whose mission was aborted, often due to technical failures.

   For quotations using this term, see Citations:boomerang.

7. A cocktail made with rye whiskey and Swedish punsch.

present singular third person boomerangs · participle present boomeranging · participle past boomeranged · past boomeranged

1. intransitiveTo return or rebound unexpectedly, especially when the result is undesired; to backfire.

   In the opening, Pawn-grabbing expeditions or premature mating attacks are apt to boomerang.

   1949 October, I. A. Horowitz, “How to Win in the Opening”, in Chess Review

   3 more examples

   "Well, there must be some flaw about this," I suggested. "If your magnet is so strong as all that, you would have your own broadside boomeranging back upon you."

   1882 March 7, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Stark Munro Letters

   "Oh," they yelled, "you could, eh? Well, let's see you do it, then! Let's see you do it! Let's see you do it! Now!" In a moment the crew of little spectators were gibing at Horace. The blow that would make Jimmie's humiliation complete! Instead, it had boomeranged Horace into the mud.

   1899 November, “"Showin' Off"”, in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, volume 99, number 594

   Our future economic success depends on the economy growing faster than government spending. That's why raising taxes would boomerang. Economic growth would slow, revenues would decline, and the budget deficit would swell.

   1985 February 2, Ronald Reagan, Presidential Radio Address

2. intransitiveTo travel in a curved path.

   He said that to the horse as it boomeranged off again and broke away through the scrub.

   1894, Henry Lawson, “The Mystery of Dave Regan”, in Short Stories in Prose and Verse

3. RAF slangTo abort a mission and return to base early.

   For quotations using this term, see Citations:boomerang.