backwater en · NOUN
Pronunciation
Etymology
From back + water.
Meanings
-
The water held back by a dam or other obstruction.
[…] The backwater separates the main line from Hinksey marshalling yards
1956 May, “Beside a Thames Backwater”, in Railway Magazine, page unnumbered, frontispiece:
-
(figuratively, idiomatic, usually) A remote place: somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc; any field of endeavor that figuratively resembles such a place.
Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.
1979 October 12, Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, London: Pan Books, →ISBN:Near-synonyms: (place) jerkwater town, one-horse town, Podunk; see also Thesaurus:remote place
Usually, however, this line, which once had a monopoly of all the traffic to Bournemouth, is a quiet backwater carrying a purely local traffic.
1953 August, David R. Webb, “By Rail to Bournemouth”, in Railway Magazine, page 556:an academic backwater
In the 19th century silt deposits began to block the harbour, and the city began to decline. To make matters worse, conservative elements in Lukang refused in the early 20th century to allow trains and modern highways to be built near their city. Lukang became a backwater, only to be reborn decades later when modern Taiwanese began to search for a living connection with the past.
2014, Robert Kelly, Chung Wah Chow, Taiwan, 9th edition, Lonely Planet, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 224:The Hope Valley, while scenic, is no quiet backwater. There's no sign it will ever be one either.
2024 May 1, Tom Ingall, “Hope springs eternal for better services”, in RAIL, number 1008, page 53:What was once the industrial heart of Uruguay is now a quiet riverside backwater where nothing much happens—the shops don't bother to open until midday and not at all if it's raining.
2003 September 21, Tom Hall, “Sunset in a one-pie town”, in The Observer, →ISSN:It's a volume for those who delight in exploring the backwaters of nineteenth-century opera.
1978, National Opera Association –, The Opera Journal, page 29:
- A rowing stroke in which the oar is pushed forward to stop the boat; see back water
-
(qualifier:paper industry) Water used in the papermaking process. Recycled to reduce usage of fresh water, and usually containing residual amounts of chemicals and fibres.
The back-water (overflow) can be used for "thinning down" the chests when emptying. If "Wastive" does this, his mind will be at ease regarding waste of pulp, and his machine-men will be happy and do their work much better than by trying to use all the back-water on the paper machine.
1908, An Old Machineman, “Re Back-water Query.”, in The World's Paper Trade Review, page 14:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| back water | alternative | lexicographic | |
| backwaters | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| back-water | alternative | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Synonyms
BFE · Podunk · beyond the black stump · bumfuck nowhere · ends of the earth · Egypt · Kansas · back forty · overflow · back o' Bourke · bumfuck middle of nowhere · Idaho · back of beyond · jerkwater · Timbuktu · bump in the road · jerkwater town · East Bumfuck · Nowhere · Bumblefuck · wide spot in the road · Buttfuck · Anytown · one-horse town · Isolated place · edge of the earth · off the beaten track · Woop Woop · boondock · boonies · edge of the world · one-horse town · wop-wops · Fictional places · Isolated town · Outer Mongolia · hinterland · north forty · middle of nowhere · provinces · dullsville · Minnesota · sticks · Squedunk · Ohio · Tuktoyaktuk · the sticks · jerkwater town · Actual places · East Jesus · ends of the world · Nowheresville · backwoods · Bumfuck · Podunk · Hicksville · Whateverville · Iowa · boondocks · backwater · out of the way · arse end of nowhere · jerk-water · backcountry
Translations (52)
uz olon (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · ja 奥地 (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · ru захолу́стье (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · sv avkrok (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · fi huopaus (a rowing stroke in which the oar is pushed forward to stop the boat) · ru засто́й (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · pt cafundó (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · pl zaścianek (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · mi auhoki (the water held back by a dam or other obstruction) · es villorrio (despective) (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · is útskækill (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · ms negeri antah-berantah (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · ja 辺境 (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · uk чортзна-де (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · hu visszaduzzasztás (the water held back by a dam or other obstruction) · ja 僻地 (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · grc παλίρροια (the water held back by a dam or other obstruction) · mk за́стој (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · nb avkrok (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · hy ծայրագավառ (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · es pueblucho (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · fr patelin (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · fr trou perdu (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · mi muriwai (the water held back by a dam or other obstruction) · pl prowincja (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · de Kaff (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · pl cofka (a rowing stroke in which the oar is pushed forward to stop the boat) · es poblacho (despective) (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · mk пусте́лија (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · ru глуби́нка (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · pl rozlewisko (the water held back by a dam or other obstruction) · gl relanzo (the water held back by a dam or other obstruction) · uk звідкілясь (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · ru глушь (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · uk хтозна-звідки (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · de Dorf (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · ru подпо́р (the water held back by a dam or other obstruction) · sh мртво море (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · nl gat (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · kn ಹಿನ್ನೀರು (the water held back by a dam or other obstruction) · it acqua di invaso (the water held back by a dam or other obstruction) · fi takapajula (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · hy խուլ տեղ (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · ru за́водь (the water held back by a dam or other obstruction) · fi padon pidättelemä vesi (the water held back by a dam or other obstruction) · et lodu (the water held back by a dam or other obstruction) · uz olong (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · hu porfészek (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · sv ankdamm (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · cmn 窮鄉僻壤 /穷乡僻壤 (a remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.) · ru гребок m навстре́чу (a rowing stroke in which the oar is pushed forward to stop the boat) · mk по́тпор (the water held back by a dam or other obstruction)