Hi Greg, Thanks for the clarification. I unfortunately have never associated "sandbagging" in a positive way. Here's how Dictionary.com puts it: sand·bag verb, sand·bagged, sand·bag·ging. noun 1. a bag filled with sand, used in fortification, as ballast, etc. 2. such a bag used as a weapon. 3. to furnish with sandbags. 4. to hit or stun with a sandbag. 5. Informal .a. to set upon violently; attack from or as if from ambush. b. to coerce or intimidate, as by threats: The election committee was sandbagged into nominating the officers for a second term. c. to thwart or cause to fail or be rejected, especially surreptitiously or without warning: He sandbagged our proposal by snide remarks to the boss. 6. Poker . to deceive (one or more opponents) into remaining in the pot by refraining from betting on a strong hand, then raising the bet in a later round. Larry
Since I'm in sales, "sand-bagging" is commonly used as a "under-promise/commit" and out of nowhere, overdeliver. It's the out-of-nowhere component that drives the sand-bagging part.
At the risk of continuing the off-topic wandering, on the Phrase Finder bulletin board, someone offers this story (which matches what I thought I knew of the origin of "to sandbag"):
That's a terrible definition on Dictionary.com. I play golf and poker, and you hear the term used every day on the golf course, and I don't know that I've ever heard it at the poker tables. For a golfer, it means artificially inflating your handicap so that you are able to win a match or tournament by "sandbagging" with a handicap much higher than your level of play. At any member-guest tournament, pretty much any time a guest with a handicap greater than single digits hits a nice shot or putt they are accused of sandbagging or being a sandbagger.
Similarly, I was familiar with its use in bowling. Sandbagger was whispered of only a few players in the leagues I bowled in.
One origin story is from soap box derbies, hiding a sandbag in your car to get a favourable start position during qualifying, and draining or dumping it during the real race.
The Oxford English Dictionary's entry is somewhat interesting. For the noun sandbag it gives: A bag filled with sand for use: .... 3. as a weapon to inflict a heavy blow without leaving a mark .... And as a verb it gives: 1. barricade or defend. 2. place sandbags against a window, chink etc. 3. fell with a blow from a sandbag. 4. (N.America) coerce by harsh means. I had always assumed that the modern use for 'take by surprise' (golf etc. examples earlier in this thread) related to definition 3 - the use by historical criminals/military to sneak up on someone and kill them silently. The OED's idea of North American usage doesn't seem to be up-to-date on how you guys actually use the term. I had always assumed that the modern use of 'sandbagging' to