- Home
- Idioms
- whack
whack
full whack
1. adverb At the highest, fullest, or maximum capacity or effect. Our servers have been running full whack ever since we released our online multiplayer game.
2. noun The highest, fullest, or maximum amount, capacity, or effect. They had turned the stove on to full whack without telling us, and we ended up burning our roast. John always pays the full whack for the newest technology.
have a whack (at something)
To have a chance to try (doing something); to attempt to do or undertake (something). I can't get the lid off this jar for the life of me. Do you want to have a whack? I'm going to have a whack at doing my own taxes this year, to save on the cost of hiring an accountant. Let me have a whack at getting the car started.
whack-a-mole
1. Literally, an arcade game in which the player uses a small rubber mallet to hit robotic toy moles that pop up randomly in holes laid out across the surface of the machine. I love coming to this old arcade. I have a lot of fond memories playing whack-a-mole and skee ball here as a kid.
2. By extension, a situation in which problems continue to arise faster than one is able to solve or cope with them, resulting in piecemeal, incomplete, or temporary results. These dang pop-up ads are so annoying! It's a game of whack-a-mole every time I go online these days! Every time we think we have the software debugged, more problems show up. We've just been playing whack-a-mole from day one!
beat someone or something off
to drive someone or something away by beating. They beat the enemy off. The army beat off the savage attack, saving the town. I was able to beat off the intruder.
*out of kilter
and *off-kilter 1. Lit. out of balance; crooked or tilted. (*Typically: be ~; get ~; knock something ~.) John, your tie is sort of off-kilter. Let me fix it. Please straighten the picture on the wall. It's out of kilter.
2. Fig. malfunctioning; on the fritz. (*Typically: be ~; go ~.) My furnace is out of kilter. I have to call someone to fix it. This computer is out of kilter. It doesn't let me log on.
*try at someone
and *shot at someone; *crack at someone; *go at someone *stab at someonean attempt to convince someone of something; an attempt to try to get information out of someone; an attempt to try to train someone to do something. (The expressions with shot and crack are more informal than the main entry phrase. (*Typically: take ~; have ~; give someone ~.) Let me have a crack at him. I can make him talk. Let the new teacher have a try at Billy. She can do marvels with unwilling learners. Give me a crack at him. I know how to make these bums talk.
*try at something
and *shot at something; *crack at something; *go at something; *stab at something; *whack at somethingto take a turn at trying to do something. (*Typically: take ~; have ~; give someone ~.) All of us wanted to have a try at the prize-winning shot. Let Sally have a shot at it. If you let me have a crack at it, maybe I can be successful.
whack someone or something up
Sl. to damage someone or something. Bob got mad at Greg and whacked him up. Clara whacked up her car yesterday.
whack something off
1. Sl. to complete something easily or quickly. If you want a pair of these, I can whack them off for you in a few minutes. The artisan whacked off a set of the earrings in a few minutes.
2. Sl. to cut or chop something off. A tree branch is rubbing against the house. I guess I'll go out and whack that branch off. Whack off that other branch while you are at it.
whack something
up Sl. to chop something up. In about an hour, he had whacked the tree up into small logs. Have you whacked up the chicken for frying yet?
whacked (out)
Sl. intoxicated. Gee, is he ever whacked! Dave was so whacked out he couldn't stand up.
out of kilter
1. not working well or not in good condition out of whack Going just one night without sleep throws me out of kilter for a couple of days afterward. She wasn't behaving normally - her sense of humor was out of kilter.
2. not matching out of whack His fancy new home seems slightly out of kilter with his plain, quiet image.
out of whack
1. not working well or not in good condition out of kilter Lifting boxes in and out of the truck threw his back out of whack.
2. not matching out of kilter What we were told just now is basically out of whack with the facts.
have/take a crack at something
to try to do something although you are not certain that you will succeed He didn't win the tennis championships, but he plans to have another crack at it next year.
out of kilter
1. if something is out of kilter, it is not operating or working as it should Even one sleepless night can throw your body out of kilter.
2. if two things are out of kilter, or if one thing is out of kilter with another, they are not similar any more (often + with ) A further tax increase on cigarettes would put Britain out of kilter with the rest of Europe.
out of whack
1. (American & Australian informal) if something is out of whack, it is not working as it should You can use Carol's old bike - the gears are out of whack, but it still goes. If I don't take any exercise for a while it throws my whole body out of whack.
2. (American & Australian informal) confused and badly organized The state budget is way out of whack and politicians are blaming an influx of immigrants. Our spending priorities are out of whack.
beat off
Repulse, drive away by blows, as in We tried to beat off the flying ants swarming about us. Originating in the mid-1600s in a military context, this term was being used for other activities by the mid-1700s.
have a crack at
Also, get or have a go or shot or whack at ; take a crack at. Make an attempt or have a turn at doing something. For example, Let me have a crack at assembling it, or I had a shot at it but failed, or Dad thinks he can-let him have a go at it, or Dave had a whack at changing the tire, or Jane wants to take a crack at it. The oldest of these colloquialisms is have a shot at, alluding to firing a gun and first recorded in 1756; crack and go date from the 1830s, and whack from the late 1800s.
out of kilter
Also, out of whack. Not properly adjusted, not working well, out of order. For example, This whole schedule is out of kilter with the rest of our projects, or The wheels on the trailer are out of whack. The first term, also spelled kelter, dates from the early 1600s and its origin is not known. The precise allusion of the variant, a colloquial term dating from the late 1800s, is also unclear. Possibly it relates to a whack, or blow, throwing something off, or some suggest, to wacky, that is, "crazy."
out of whack
whack off
1. Cut off, as in The cook whacked off the fish's head with one blow, or The barber whacked off more hair than I wanted him to. [Slang; first half of 1900s]
2. Masturbate, as in He went to his room and whacked off. [ Vulgar slang; mid-1900s]
beat off
v.1. To drive someone or something away, especially by fighting or hitting: Two robbers attacked me on the subway, but I beat them off with my bag. After a long battle, the soldiers beat off the invaders.
2. To defeat someone or something in a competition: Our company intends to beat off our rivals for the contract. The visiting team was behind us for most of the game, but beat us off squarely in the end.
3. Vulgar Slang To masturbate. Used of males.
whack off
v. Vulgar Slang To masturbate. Used of males.
beat off
and ball off and jack off and jag off and jerk off and pull oneself off and toss off and wack off and wank off and whack off and whank off and whip off1. in. to masturbate. (Usually objectionable.) They say if you beat off too much, you’ll get pimples.
2. in. to waste time; to waste one’s efforts; to do something inefficiently. The whole lot of them were jacking off rather than sticking to business. Stop whanking off and get on with your work!
whack off
verbout of kilter
1. mod. not functioning properly; on the fritz; out of w(h)ack. My car’s engine is out of kilter and needs some repair work.
2. mod. out of square. That corner is not square, and the wall even looks out of kilter.
out of w(h)ack
mod. out of adjustment; inoperative. (see also
out of kilter.)
I think my left eye is out of wack a little. Maybe I need glasses. take a whack at someone/something
tv. to hit at someone or something. Jerry got an ax and took a whack at the tree but didn’t do much damage.
take a whack at something
tv. to have a try at something. Why don’t you practice a little while and take a whack at it tomorrow?
whack
and wack1. tv. to strike someone or something. Larry reached down and wacked the dog across the snout.
2. n. a blow or hit (at someone or something). She landed a nasty wack on his thigh.
3. n. a drink of liquor. Take a whack of this stuff.
4. Go to w(h)acked.
w(h)ack someone/something up
in. to damage someone or something. (see also
whack something up.)
Bob got mad at Greg and whacked him up. w(h)ack someone (out)
tv. to kill somebody. (Underworld.) Willie made another try at whacking Albert out last evening.
whack someone
verbwhack something off
1. tv. to complete something easily or quickly. If you want a pair of these, I can whack them off for you in a few minutes.
2. tv. to cut or chop something off. A tree branch is rubbing against the house. I guess I’ll go out and whack that branch off.
w(h)ack something (out)
tv. to rob a place; to swindle a business establishment. (Underworld.) Did your guys wack the church collection box?
whack something
verbwhack something up
tv. to chop something up. In about an hour, he had whacked the tree up into small logs.
w(h)acked
and w(h)ack1. mod. wild; silly. Bill was wacked as always and embarrassed us all.
2. Go to w(h)acked (out).
whack
verbwhacked
verb out of whack
Informal Improperly ordered or balanced; not functioning correctly.
Common Names:
| Name | Gender | Pronounced | Usage |
|---|
| Matt | | MAT | English |
| Abdias | | - | Biblical Latin |
| Priya | | - | Hinduism, Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali |
| Fadl | | - | Arabic |
| Michelina | | mee-ke-LEE-nah | Italian |
| Abessalom | | - | Biblical Greek |