backstop en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
- /ˈbæk.stɒp/
Etymology
From back + stop.
Meanings
- An object or a person put in the rear or in the back of something to reinforce, hold, support.
-
A default arrangement that holds if all else fails.
Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar, this morning, said a time-limited backstop would be unacceptable, and has previously promised to vote down the UK’s Brexit withdrawal deal unless it features a satisfactory backstop.
The Express, 7 June 2018"The 2½ years since have been about hammering home these points in any European capital that would listen. And in spite of capacity-sapping talks on the first point – Brexit, border and backstop – the Department of Foreign Affairs and other government departments have been working quietly to make good on the second.
The Irish Times, 17 November 2018
- A wall or fence behind home plate.
-
(slang) A catcher; the position of catcher.
Bench may be the greatest catcher subjectively, but he's not statistically. Statwise, Yogi Berra is the all-time backstop, regardless of which measure you prefer. Berra's Total-Z is one-third of a standard deviation higher than Bench's, and his Core-Z average is a point better.
2002, James F. Vail, Outrageous Fortune: What's Wrong with Hall of Fame Voting and How to Make It Statistically Sound, Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, →ISBN, page 143:
- The player who stands immediately behind the striking base.
- (dated) The longstop.
- (dated) The wicket-keeper.
-
Something serving to bolster or support a cover story etc.
[…] to be set up in Indonesia with a phony book and school supplies company established in New York City as a backstop.
1976, Joseph Burkholder Smith, Portrait of a Cold Warrior, page 116:Closely representing an alibi, creating a backstop could involve such measures as having people available to verify the details of an agent's cover story.
1990, Bruce W. Watson, Susan M. Watson, Gerald W. Hopple, United States intelligence: an encyclopedia, page 1974:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| back-stop | alternative | lexicographic | |
| backstops | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Coordinates
backup · rearguard (thing or a person to support) · backup
Translations (25)
nb nødløsning (default arrangement) · pt respaldo (thing or a person to support) · mi tautopenga (catcher; the position of catcher) · it supporto (thing or a person to support) · de Letztsicherung (default arrangement) · pt batente (thing or a person to support) · de Sicherung (thing or a person to support) · de Notlösung (default arrangement) · de Abfangzaun (wall or fence behind home plate) · de Schutz (thing or a person to support) · pt rede de proteção (default arrangement) · de Sicherheitsnetz (thing or a person to support) · pt salvaguarda (default arrangement) · gl salvagarda (default arrangement) · it garanzia (default arrangement) · de Unterstützung (thing or a person to support) · nl achtervang (thing or a person to support) · ga cúlstop (default arrangement) · it spalleggiamento (thing or a person to support) · de Rettungsschirm (thing or a person to support) · gl respaldo (thing or a person to support) · de Rückhalt (thing or a person to support) · de Auffanglösung (default arrangement) · nl noodoplossing (default arrangement) · it copertura (default arrangement)