To cut with a whipsaw; i.e., a frame-saw, with a narrow blade. (‘Century Dict.’) Hence, to cut or destroy (see 1909) by a backward and forward movement. Also (1885) to accept bribes from opposing parties.
1885. Whip-Sawing.—The acceptance of fees or bribes from two opposing persons or parties. It is believed to have originated in the New York State Assembly, and is evidently derived from the whip-saw of mechanics, which cuts both ways.—‘Magazine of American History,’ xiii. 496.
1901. The great redwoods that were hewn in the Sonoma forests were “whip-sawed” by hand for the plank required.—C. H. Shinn, ‘Pioneer Spanish Families in California,’ Century Mag., xli. 386/1 (Jan.).
1909. He sold short, as a hedge against his cash wheat, 8,000,000 bushels of June and July, covering later at a 20-cent loss, then bought heavily, and lost enormously when the market declined. He had been in the common term of Wall Street, “whipsawed.”—N.Y. Evening Post, April 26.
