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boomerang

   Also found in: Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
boo·mer·ang  (bm-rng)
n.
1. A flat, curved, usually wooden missile configured so that when hurled it returns to the thrower.
2. A statement or course of action that backfires.
intr.v. boo·mer·anged, boo·mer·ang·ing, boo·mer·angs
To have the opposite effect from the one intended; backfire.

[Dharuk bumariny.]
Word History: The words we have borrowed from native languages of Australia, such as billabong, budgerigar, dingo, kangaroo, koala, kookaburra, waddy, and wallaby, generally have the exotic sound of down under, and boomerang is no exception. In a book about the languages of New South Wales published in 1790 is found the native term boo-mer-rit, glossed "the scimitar," because of the curved shape of the boomerang. In 1825 in a passage containing the first recorded instance of the English form boomerang we are told it is "a short crested weapon which the natives of Port Jackson [now part of Sydney] project with accurate aim into a rotary motion." In 1827 another commentator says that this term "may be retained for want of a more descriptive name."

boomerang
Noun
1. a curved wooden missile of Australian Aborigines which can be made to return to the thrower
2. an action or statement that recoils on its originator
Verb
(of a plan) to recoil unexpectedly, harming its originator [Aboriginal]
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.boomerangboomerang - a curved piece of wood; when properly thrown will return to thrower
kiley, kylie - an Australian boomerang; one side flat and the other convex
projectile, missile - a weapon that is forcibly thrown or projected at a targets but is not self-propelled
Australia, Commonwealth of Australia - a nation occupying the whole of the Australian continent; Aboriginal tribes are thought to have migrated from southeastern Asia 20,000 years ago; first Europeans were British convicts sent there as a penal colony
2.boomerangboomerang - a miscalculation that recoils on its maker
miscalculation, misestimation, misreckoning - a mistake in calculating
Verb1.boomerang - return to the initial position from where it came; like a boomerang
return - go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before; "return to your native land"; "the professor returned to his teaching position after serving as Dean"

boomerang
Translations

boomerang [ˈbuːməræŋ] nbumerang m (also fig)
vi to boomerang on sb (fig) → ser contraproducente para algn
boomerang [ˈbuːməræŋ] nboomerang m
boomerang [ˈbuːməræŋ] nBumerang m
vi (fig) → einen Bumerangeffekt haben
boomerang [ˈbuːməræŋ] nboomerang m inv
vi (fig) → avere effetto contrario;
to boomerang on sb (fig) → ritorcersi contro qn

boomerang
n boomerang [ˈbuːməraŋ]
a curved piece of wood used by Australian aborigines which, when thrown, returns to the thrower. boemerang قَوْسٌ خَشَبِيَّةٌ مُرْتَدَّةٌ إلى راميها бумеранг bumerang boomerang der Bumerang μπούμεραγκ bumerán bumerang بومرنگ bumerangi boomerang בּוּמְרַנְג बूमरैंग, आस्ट्रेलिया के आदिवासियों द्वारा प्रयुक्त एक मुड़ा हुआ बाण जो फेंकने वाले के पास लौट आता है bumerang bumeráng bumerang bjúgverpill, búmerang boomerang ブーメラン 부메랑 bumerangas bumerangs bumerang boemerang bumerang bumerang bumerangue bume­rang бумеранг bumerang bumerang bumerang bumerang ไม้ที่มีลักษณะโค้งแบน เมื่อขว้างไปแล้วจะย้อนกลับมาหาผู้ขว้าง bumerang 飛鏢 бумеранг آسٹریلوی باشندوں ایک ہتھیار جو پھینکنے والے کے پاس واپس آ جاتا ہے vũ khí bumơrang


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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
Besides Tom and his father, the Swift household was made up of Eradicate Sampson, a colored man-of-all-work, who, with his mule Boomerang, did what he could to keep the grounds around the house in order.
And there is only one kind of club that can be thrown out of a window, turn in mid-air and come back to the window next to it: the Australian boomerang.
The Australian, in the simplicity of the arts of life, comes nearest the Fuegian: he can, however, boast of his boomerang, his spear and throwing-stick, his method of climbing trees, of tracking animals, and of hunting.
 
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