sandbag

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 1, 2009 is: sandbag • \SAND-bag\ • verb 1 : to bank, stop up, or weight with sandbags 2 a : to hit or stun with or as if with a sandbag b : to treat unfairly or harshly 3 : to conceal or misrepresent one's true position, potential, or intent especially in order to take advantage of Examples: Shortly after agreeing to place a wager on the match, I realized I had been sandbagged and was clearly outmatched by my opponent. Did you know? In the 19th century, the verb "sandbag" began to be used to describe the act of bludgeoning someone with a small, sand-filled bag -- a tactic employed by ruffians, usually as a prelude to robbing their victims. The verb went on to develop metaphorical extensions, such as "to coerce by crude means." By the 1940s, it was being used of a strategy in which a poker player with a good hand bets weakly, in order to draw other players into holding on to their hands and raising the bet. The use of "sandbag" has since evolved to refer to a general strategy of playing down one's position in order to gain some sort of advantage. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.