sandbagging

1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of sandbag

plural sandbaggings

1. countableuncountableThe act or process of filling and laying sandbags, such as before a storm in anticipation of flooding.
2. countableuncountableThe striking of a person with a sandbag or other heavy object.
3. countablefigurativelyuncountableHiding the full strength, skill, or difficulty of something or someone early in an engagement, in order to gain an advantage.

   FIDE has slapped a former Chinese chess prodigy, Li Haoyu, with a ban for what the global governing body of chess termed “sandbagging at chess competitions” in a report published on their website ….

   2025 August 10, “Li Haoyu, ex-Chinese chess prodigy, banned for ‘sandbagging’ after dropping 400 ELO points in year, losing 13 games in row”, in The Indian Express

   2 more examples

   We've seen such games as Sandbagging (managers knowingly lowball sales forecasts as a negotiating ploy) spread with surprising speed, because when the game appears to “work” for one manager, others follow suit[…]

   2009, Mauricio Goldstein, Philip Read, Games at Work, Jossey-Bass, →ISBN, page 16

   Sandbagging takes place when workers do not notify the manager as soon as they complete their assigned tasks. Sandbagging can take place especially when there is a perception that reporting an early task completion will result in a corresponding reduction in the time allowed for that task the next time it has to be performed.

   2014, Mandyam M. Srinivasan, Lean Maintenance Repair and Overhaul, New York: McGraw-Hill Education, →ISBN, page 106

4. countableuncountablelawThe act of bringing a claim for breach of a covenant or misrepresentation even though the person bringing the claim knew about the issue before closing the transaction and did it anyway.

   In the United States, sandbagging is a matter of state law, and the state laws are inconsistent on the matter.

   2023, Robin A. Boyle-Laisure, Teaching Contract Drafting, page 55

   1 more example

   “Sandbagging” in the M&A legal context refers to the right of the buyer to seek indemnification for a breach of a seller’s reps and warranties even though the buyer had knowledge of the misrepresentation on which it is basing its claim prior to the closing date. U.S. case law on sandbagging varies widely across jurisdictions and is subject to change over time.

   2017, Stephen M. Bainbridge, Mergers and Acquisitions: A Transactional Perspective, St. Paul, MN: Foundation Press, →ISBN, page 346

5. countableuncountablerestaurant kitchen jargonServing premade food, such as precooked appetizers that need only reheating.