whipsaw

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A narrow two-person crosscut saw.
2. v. To cut with a whipsaw.
3. v. Games To win two bets from (a person) at one time, as in faro.
4. v. To cause to move or alternate rapidly in contrasting directions: "The bond market . . . continues to be whipsawed by fears of rekindled inflation” ( Steven E. Levingston).
5. v. To defeat or best in two ways at once.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. Hence, to beat, defeat, or cause to fail in two opposite ways at the same time. See the extract.
2. n. A frame-saw with a narrow blade, used to cut curved kerfs. See cut under saw.
3. To cut with a whip-saw.
4. To have or take the advantage of (an adversary), whatever he does or may be able to do; particularly, in gamblers' slang, to win at faro, at one turn (two bets made by the same person, one of which is played open, the other being coppered); beat (a player) in two ways at once.

Wiktionary

1. n. a crosscut saw operated by two people
2. v. to operate a whipsaw
3. v. to lose potential profit by buying shares just before the price falls, or by selling them just before the price rises
4. v. to defeat someone in two different ways at once

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. A saw for dividing timber lengthwise, usually set in a frame, and worked by two persons; also, a fret saw.
2. n. A kind of narrow ripsaw, tapering from butt to point, with hook teeth and averaging from 5 to 71/2 feet in length, used by one or two men.
3. v. To saw with the whipsaw.
4. v. To defeat in, or cause to lose, two different bets at the same turn or in one play, as a player at faro who has made two bets at the same time, one that a card will lose and another that a different card will win; hence, to defeat in spite of every effort.
5. v. to cause to suffer a setback or losses by subjecting to two forces at the same time or in rapid succession.
6. v. (Finance) to cause to suffer a series of losses in trading when buying and selling at the wrong times in a rapidly fluctuating market; -- especially used when an attempt is made, by selling short, to recover losses from a long purchase in a declining market, and the short sale also results in a loss when the market subsequently rises. Used mostly in the passive.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a saw with handles at both ends; intended for use by two people
2. v. saw with a whipsaw
3. v. victimize, especially in gambling or negotiations