Bushwhacked

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To be caught off guard by an unexpected attack that surprises one, often occurring in a remote or natural setting
2. Caught by surprise through a sudden attack, especially in wilderness or rough terrain
3. Suddenly overwhelmed by an enemy in a concealed or natural environment without warning

Etymology: "Bushwhacked" is the past tense and past participle of "bushwhack," a verb built from two plain English words: "bush," meaning a shrubby or wooded area, and "whack," a sharp, heavy blow. The original sense was literal. To bushwhack was to move through dense woods by cutting or beating a path through the undergrowth, which is why the word has long suggested rough, improvised travel through wilderness rather than an attack. The shift to "caught by surprise" comes from the idea of ambush. Those who lay in wait in brushy country were hidden in the bush and could strike unseen, so the same wilderness that made travel hard also made sudden attacks easy. "Bushwhacked" therefore came to mean being ambushed, and from there to being caught off guard in general, the sense the word carries today.

Synonyms: ambushed, surprised