back and fill

== English == === Verb === back and fill (third-person singular simple present backs and fills, present participle backing and filling, simple past and past participle backed and filled) (nautical) To manage a sailing ship so that the wind strikes them alternately in front and behind, in order to keep the ship in the middle of a river or channel while the current or tide carries the vessel against the wind. (nautical) To zigzag, or make a pivot turn by alternately putting the engine in reverse and forward, while turning the wheel or tiller. (figurative) To take opposite positions alternately; to flip-flop ==== Quotations ==== === References === “back”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.