Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun One that has characteristics of an earlier time.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Anything which acts as a setback; specifically, a person who or thing which causes another to seem inferior by contrast.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- intransitive verb to revert to an ancestral type or character.
- noun the reappearance in an organism of characteristics of an earlier ancestral type; atavism.
- noun an organisms having characteristics of an earlier ancestral type.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun a
reversion to an earlierstage ofdevelopment - noun an
organism that has characteristics of a moreprimitive form - noun
atavism - noun a person similar to an ancestor, or something new similar to what already existed
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb throw back with a quick, light motion
- adjective characteristic of an atavist
- noun a reappearance of an earlier characteristic
- noun an organism that has the characteristics of a more primitive type of that organism
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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Searching for the mot juste to epitomise Praveen Kumar during his five-wicket haul for India against England at Lord's, most analysts pounced on the term 'throwback' and applied it with abandon.
Praveen Kumar's rare style of swing bowling is as bold as it is old | Rob Bagchi 2011
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This season, the denim skirt Ms. Adams-Geller likes best is a button-down A-line piece that ends just above the knee, which she calls a "throwback to the '70s."
A Light Touch With Summer Denim Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan 2011
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This season, the denim skirt Ms. Adams-Geller likes best is a button-down A-line piece that ends just above the knee, which she calls a "throwback to the '70s."
A Light Touch With Summer Denim Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan 2011
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Or are these really long, poetic titles a throwback from the sixties (era of "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky" and "Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb").
So, what's it called? frankwu 2006
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There is even something backhanded in the way that he is referred to as a "throwback" or "old-fashioned", which in its way denigrates the level of skill shown so far in this series.
Praveen Kumar's bowling secrets will be deciphered in time | Mike Selvey 2011
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Praveen Kumar was referred to as a 'throwback' but although his style is evocative of bowlers past, it is not primitive.
Praveen Kumar's rare style of swing bowling is as bold as it is old | Rob Bagchi 2011
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McLaren says: This guy is a throwback from the '50s.
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If you made the title a throwback to their adventures pre-downfall, there could be some interesting story telling there — especially since we know its tragic end.
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(I say this is "nostalgia" because it's obviously trying to brush some dust off of the 1990's, the first film to do so in throwback style).
Must Watch: The Wackness Red Band Trailer! « FirstShowing.net 2008
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Dr Nickels, throwback from the middle ages, insists on MORE bloodletting to cure the (already white) viaduct patient on a modern hospital table.
kalli commented on the word throwback
As in "tubular throwback".
November 1, 2007
ramsler commented on the word throwback
I see no mention of the newer sense of "throwback" as an adjective used in phrases such as "Throwback Thursdays" in which photos or videos of the past are re-broadcast to show what things looked like in the past, especially of currently known personalities. It is comparable in meaning to "retro" or "vintage" in its view of the past. and not intended to reintroduce something into the present (as with vintage clothing, or 'retro style') but to evoke a sense of nostalgia or humorous contemplation of times when things looked different from the present.
August 30, 2014
bilby commented on the word throwback
Arguably 'reversion to a former type' and 'reappearance of an earlier characteristic' come gollydarn close.
August 30, 2014