short-stop

Verb

short-stop (third-person singular simple present short-stops, present participle short-stopping, simple past and past participle short-stopped)

1. To stop (a process, trip, trajectory, etc.) before it complete; to cause to stop short.
   • the check which we mentioned earlier as a prime example of present-day around-the-barn movement in the payments stream, might conceivably be short-stopped at a regional clearing center located in Maine.1967, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Report to Stockholders, page 7
   • Davis says Florida often gets "short-stopped” when an airline carrying a company site selector from California stops in Houston or Dallas or Austin.1983, Sue Hoover, Help Wanted: The First Guide to High-tech Jobs, page 14
2. To play the position of shortstop.
   • In The Spirit of the Times, the most reliable sporting paper of the Coast, we find the following encouraging criticism on our baseball nine: " Koshland (a tower of strength to this league) short topped and ran bases as brilliantly as the best of professionals."1886, California Occident - Volumes 11-12, page 88
   • Baird, '12, has been catching, short-stopping, second-basing and left-fielding with varying good nature, but impartial ability and with commendable attention to such trifling details as hitting and base running, matters apparently beneath the notice of most of the team.1909, The Phi Gamma Delta - Volume 32, page 742