Coffee has initially been a food – chewed, not sipped. Early African tribes consume coffee by grinding the berries together, adding some animal fat, and rolling the treats into tiny edible energy balls.
BACKSTOP
backstop
(noun) a precaution in case of an emergency; “he acted as a backstop in case anything went wrong”
backstop
(noun) (baseball) a fence or screen (as behind home plate) to prevent the ball from traveling out of the playing field
catcher, backstop
(noun) (baseball) the person who plays the position of catcher
backstop
(verb) act as a backstop
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Proper noun
Backstop
(UK) A proposed seamless border between Ireland and Northern Ireland in the event of Brexit.
Anagrams
• back post, backpost, postback
Etymology
Noun
backstop (plural backstops)
A thing 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.
• The Express, 7 June 2018
• The Irish Times, 17 November 2018
(baseball) A wall or fence behind home plate.
(baseball slang) A catcher; the position of catcher.
(rounders) The player who stands immediately behind the striking base.
(cricket, dated) The longstop.
(cricket, dated) The wicket-keeper.
(espionage) Something serving to bolster or support a cover story etc.
Coordinate terms
• (thing or a person to support): rearguard
Verb
backstop (third-person singular simple present backstops, present participle backstopping, simple past and past participle backstopped)
(transitive) To serve as backstop for.
(transitive) To bolster, support.
Anagrams
• back post, backpost, postback
Source: Wiktionary
Back"stop`, n.
1. In baseball, a fence, prop. at least 90 feet behind the home base, to stop the balls that pass the catcher; also, the catcher himself.
2. In rounders, the player who stands immediately behind the striking base.
3. In cricket, the longstop; also, the wicket keeper.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
21 June 2025
SUFFOCATION
(noun) the condition of being deprived of oxygen (as by having breathing stopped); “asphyxiation is sometimes used as a form of torture”
Coffee Trivia
