whip back

whip back

1. To jerk, snap, or thrash backward with great and sudden force. He held the branch back to let Mary pass, but he let go before I got there, and it whipped back into my face. You need to make sure the tarpaulin is pegged down securely. We don't want it to come whipping back during a storm.
2. To throw or hurl something with great and sudden force back (to someone or something). In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "whip" and "back." She regained possession of the ball and whipped it back to the shooting guard, who sank the ball for two points. I asked him to return the device, and he whipped it back to me so hard that it smashed against the wall into a dozen pieces.
3. To blow, jerk, or yank someone or something backward with great and sudden force. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "whip" and "back." A huge gust of wind whipped back the gate just as I was trying to shut it. The contestants started running, but the bungee cables strapped to their harnesses whipped them back toward their starting points.
4. To transport or delivery someone or something back to some previous location very hastily or suddenly. In this usage, a noun or pronoun is used between "whip" and "back." Her parents arrived at her dorm room and whipped her back home after they found out she had been skipping all of her classes. The agent gathered the politician into the car and whipped him back to the embassy.
5. To cause someone to return in their mind to some previous place or moment in time. In this usage, a noun or pronoun is used between "whip" and "back." The teacher struck her desk with the ruler, whipping me back from my daydream. The scent of the pine whipped him right back to the forest behind his grandfather's cabin where he had spent so much time as a child.
See also: back, whip
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

whip back (on someone)

[for something] to snap back and strike someone. The branch whipped back and struck Jill in the leg. It whipped back and slapped my side.
See also: back, whip
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • let me get back to you (on that)
  • let (someone or something) get out
  • let us (do something)
  • Let us do
  • let (someone or something) get out of (something)
  • let it roll
  • Let it roll!
  • let in
  • let the chips fall (where they may)
  • let the chips fall where they may
References in periodicals archive
"I think all that may happen and, if it does, who knows, I might take the whip back before I leave Parliament."
Short may retake Labour whip now Blair has gone
Fido resembled a Smooth Fox Terrier but with a nonconforming, rounded head and ears she could whip back around her skull so the tips met or telescope out to the side like wings on a prop plane.
Year of the Dog: this is the Chinese year of the "Male Fire" dog, which means (to the author) the terrier
If that happens, the cable can whip back and injure or kill anyone in its path.
Winch warnings
She said: "I have no intention of taking the whip back because justice is not done.
This is not justice, says JP councillor; Collins speaks out as that row culminates in bid for new party
You curse swamps and mud holes childishly, willows whip back at you and you slash back at them with the axe in a rage and all nature seems to fight you.
GETTING THE KNOW-HOW
At the release the string must move out and around your face and chest as it moves ahead, causing it to whip back and forth as it pushes the arrow forward.
When Less Is More
Many tissues in the body sport cilia, most of which whip back and forth.
Twirl Those Organs into Place
glowed as he took the whip back in a tight circle to strike again.
Late words for my sister
(A fumarole is like a geyser, except it's mostly steam.) When it blasted off, Rick felt the ground shake and saw trees whip back and forth.
Geyser watching is hot stuff
At the same time as bringing the whip back into the spotlight, it has also reopened the debate over whether penalties for whip offences should be more severe.
Dettori case is more evidence for revising whip rules - BHA
Whether you pull off a 'No Footed Can-Can' or a 'Tail Whip Back Flip' depends entirely on which bike you have!
Time off: WIN A wheel challange; WET Weekend
"I think all that may happen and if it does - who knows, I might take the whip back before I leave Parliament."
Short: Brown could make me see red
In the end, the reader is not surprised to see the family whip back into shape at the sight of Flora's suitcase by the door, or to learn that the suitcase is actually empty.
Flora's Suitcase
You want to gnurdle that phlange, matey, or the clackett will whip back and take your arm off at the shoulder.
CHUG YOUR WAY TO HAPPINESS
"Last night Mrs Leadsom's party gave him and the MP for Dover (Mr Elphicke) the whip back without any due process.
Tory minister says it was 'right' to un-suspend violent sex texts MP for confidence vote; Andrew Griffiths and Charlie Elphicke were both re-admitted to the Tory Party ahead of the confidence vote in Theresa May's leadership