What is "sandbag"

sandbag \sand"bag`\, n. A bag filled with sand; small sandbags may be used as a weapon, or larger ones to build walls or as ballast; as, they kept the flooding river from the area by buiding a temmporary dike out of sandbags.

sandbag \sand"bag`\, v. To treat harshly or unfairly. [WordNet sense 1]

2. To hit something or somebody with or as if with a sandbag.

3. To protect or strengthen with sandbags; stop up; as, the residents sandbagged the beach front. [WordNet sense 3]

4. To thwart (another person's plans) by surreptitious maneuvers; as, he sandbagged my proposal by talking in private with other members of the committee. [informal]

5. To intimidate or coerce, especially by crude methods.

6. To deceive and take advantage of (a person) by misrepresenting one's true intentions. [Informal]

7. Hence: (Poker) To encourage opponents into betting more by first refraining from betting while having a strong hand, and only later raising the stakes. In informal games, certain types of sandbagging are forbidden.

1580s, from sand (n.) + bag (n.).

1860, "furnish with sandbags," from sandbag (n.). Meaning "pretend weakness," 1970s perhaps is extended from poker-playing sense of "refrain from raising at the first opportunity in hopes of raising more steeply later" (1940), which perhaps is from sandbagger in the sense of "bully or ruffian who uses a sandbag as a weapon to knock his intended victim unconscious" (1882). Hence "to fell or stun with a blow from a sandbag" (1887). Related: Sandbagged; sandbagging.

n. a bag, filled with sand, that can be used to weigh something down, to make a defensive wall against flooding etc, or as a weapon vb. 1 To construct a wall of sandbags (around something). 2 (context transitive English) To strike someone with a sandbag or other object to disable or render unconscious. 3 (context transitive English) To deceive someone by pretending to be weak, or (in cards) to have a weak hand. 4 To pretend to drink early on so that as the night draws on one can drink everyone "drink someone under the table".

1. n. a bag filled with sand; used as a weapon or to build walls or as ballast

2. v. treat harshly or unfairly

3. compel by coercion, threats, or crude means; "They sandbagged him to make dinner for everyone" [syn: dragoon, railroad]

4. hit something or somebody as if with a sandbag [syn: stun]

5. downplay one's ability (towards others) in a game in order to deceive, as in gambling

6. protect or strengthen with sandbags; stop up; "The residents sandbagged the beach front"

7. [also: sandbagging, sandbagged]

Sandbag may refer to:

• Sandbag, a device commonly used in flood control and temporary military fortifications
• Sandbag, to engage in , i.e. hiding the strength, skill or difficulty of something or someone early in an engagement
• Sandbag (Smash Bros.), a character from Super Smash Bros. Melee
• Sandbag (non-profit organisation), a campaign group for reduction of carbon emissions
• Sandbag, in the sense of bullying or ganging up

Sandbag is a Community Interest Company, campaigning for changes to European climate change policy, especially emissions trading. The organisation was launched in 2008 by Bryony Worthington and was the first (and founding) member of The Guardian's Environment Network.

A sandbag is a bag or sack made of hessian (burlap), polypropylene or other sturdy materials that is filled with sand or soil and used for such purposes as flood control, military fortification, shielding glass windows in war zones, ballast, and in other applications requiring mobile fortification.

The advantages are that the bags and sand are inexpensive. When empty, the bags are compact and lightweight for easy storage and transportation. They can be brought to a site empty and filled with local sand or soil. Disadvantages are that filling bags is labor-intensive. Without proper training, sandbag walls can be constructed improperly causing them to fail at a lower height than expected. They can degrade prematurely in the sun and elements once deployed. They can also become contaminated by flood waters making them difficult to deal with after flood waters recede.