back stretch

Noun

backstretch (plural backstretches)

1. (car racing) Synonym of back straight (“straight part of a racetrack, running track, etc., opposite the finishing line”).
   • At the time appointed to start [2 1 2 P.M.], the horses made their appearance on the track, and were soon after called up by the judges for the race. They were startd at six minutes before three o'clock, the pacer having the pole, and leading round the first turn. On the backstretch he waited for...1853 November 26, “Ten Mile Race in Centreville, L.I.”, in Gleason’s Pictorial Drawing-room Companion, volume V, number 22 (number 126 from the start), Boston, Mass.: F[rederick] Gleason, corner of...

   Synonyms:

   back straight

2. An area next to a racetrack used to stable the racehorses and house employees.
   • Dominic Gatto liked to have someone at the track to represent him when one of his horses raced at Arlington Park or Belmont or Prescott Downs. Someone to relay a word to the jockey, keep a sharp eye on the trainer, distribute tips to the backstretch workers who were made to understand that Mr...1997, Cary Fagan, chapter 9, in Sleeping Weather, Erin, Ont.: The Porcupine's Quill, →ISBN, page 71

   Synonyms:

   backside

3. (figuratively) The middle part of an event.
   • In some respects, it might be too faithful to the genre it savages; as in many real rom-coms, the energy flags during the plot’s backstretch, and audiences may share the drifting interest of Kyle (Bill Hader) and Karen (Ellie Kemper), who come to regret ever asking Joel and Molly to chronicle their...2014 June 26, A. A. Dowd, “Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler Spoof Rom-com Clichés in They Came Together”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 07 Dec 2017
4. An exercise that stretches the muscles of the back.
   • I went over to the other bed and lay down. My knees were hanging over the side of the bed, providing me with a fairly decent back stretch. With my eyes closed, I could hear sleep calling.2014, Tim O'Mara, Dead Red (Raymond Donne Mysteries; 3), New York, N.Y.: Minotaur Books, St. Martin's Press, →ISBN, page 264
5. The laying of a supply line from the region of the fire backwards toward the water source.

See all 6 meanings of backstretch