limbo

1. (transitive, rare) To place (someone or something) in an in-between place, or condition or state, of neglect or oblivion which results in deadlock, delay, or some other unresolved status.Examples: "[A]s your doctrine is exceedingly evil, by Yamjamma's theory it follows, that you must be proportionably bedeviled; and since it harms others, your devil is of the number of those whom it is best to limbo; and since he is one of those that can be limboed, limboed he shall be in you."; ""If a fellow of ours isn't uncovered we may be limboed here till—" Till when? Till we were born again? I wished not to wonder just then. "Whenever.""; "An hour later, beside City Limits Road / I balanced, a gleaming can in each hand, / Limboed between worlds, repeating one dollar."raretransitive

1. (dance, also attributively) A competitive dance originating from Trinidad and Tobago in which dancers take turns to cross under a horizontal bar while bending backwards. The bar is lowered with each round, and the competition is won by the dancer who passes under the bar in the lowest position without dislodging it or falling down.Examples: "Every limbo boy and girl / All around the limbo world / Gonna do the limbo rock / All around the limbo clock / Jack be limbo, Jack be quick / Jack go under limbo stick / All around the limbo clock / Hey, let's do the limbo rock"; "At night steel-band and calypso shows liven up many of the island's larger hotels. If you're not up for watching limbos, bottle dancing, and fire eating, your best bet might be a leisurely dinner before settling down on chaise longues around your hotel's pool with a couple of fruity concoctions."; "Limbo is a traditional popular dance contest that originated on the island of Trinidad. It got its name in the 1950s, but the limbo dates back to the 1800s in Trinidad. […] R&B singer-songwriter Chubby Checker, who popularized the Twist, also popularized the limbo dance and the phrase "How low can you go?" The world record for the lowest limbo dance is only 8.5 inches above the ground!"alsoattributive

1. (dance) To dance the limbo (etymology 2, noun sense 1).Examples: "Steve Becker was rolling around with the other skaters at the Pismo Beach, Calif. roller rink one day when it was announced that there would be a limbo contest. […] Steve had his friends set the bar lower and lower while he got flatter and flatter, until finally, at just over a foot and almost spread-eagled, he reached his limboing limit."; "The race begins at Alyeska Resort with an alpine skiing leg. It then proceeds through a downhill sprint, an in-line skate, a mountain bike ride, a 5K run, a wheelchair obstacle course and, if all that wasn't enough, a three-legged race in which participants chug a beer or soda before limboing under the tape."; "After each player goes under once, the bar is lowered about an inch. Players keep limboing under the limbo stick as it gets lower and lower. If you touch the stick with any part of your body, you're out. The last person left is the winner."intransitive

2. (by extension, also figuratively) Often followed by under: to pass under something, especially while bending backwards.Examples: "How low can you go? Technology stocks limboed lower and lower last week as investors danced to the profit-taking beat."; "Ahn slept over on Friday night, and as soon as the parents were asleep, Dana and Ahn limboed under the criss-cross barriers into the secret chamber."; "[T]he Private […] limboed to his seat [in a mini-submarine], thrusting his chest up and twisting to the right, one arm behind him, steadying himself on the chair as he slid in."alsobroadlyfigurativelyintransitive