pitfalling

English

Adjective

pitfalling (not comparable)

1. entrapping; ensnaring
   • 1644, J[ohn] M[ilton], The Doctrine or Discipline of Divorce: […], 2nd edition, London: [s.n.], →OCLC, book:

     able to shew us the ways of the Lord straight and faithful as they are, not full of cranks and contradictions, and pitfalling dispenses

   • 2013, Julian Mitchell, Imaginary Toys:

     But always with my future as Nicholas's illustration of moral pitfalling possibilities.

   • 2017, Chris Barsanti, The Handy New York City Answer Book:

     If one is looking for evidence of last-days decadence in New York during the pitfalling 1970s—which had an entirely different feel from the money-first decadence of the 1980s, except that obth involved turckloads of cocaine—you wouldn't have to look much further than Studio 54.

Noun

pitfalling

1. The practice of setting up and using pitfalls to capture animals.
   • 1851, Edmund Saul Dixon, The Dovecote and the Aviary, page 369:

     Here is all the evidence of which we are at present cognizant; but is it not almost enough to start a party for New Zealand in the hope of trapping, toiling, or pitfalling, —anything but shooting, —the biggest bird in the world, and bringing it alive to England, as the crown of the Knowsley and the Regent's Park menageries?

   • 2013, C.A. Tisdell, Wild Pigs: Environmental Pest or Economic Resource?, page 20:

     Hunting, poisoning, trapping, pitfalling and other types of extermination campaigns are carried out and are sometimes organized by local authorities.

   • 2023, George C. McGavin, ‎Leonidas-Romanos Davranoglou, Essential Entomology, page 287:

     When pitfalling in dry areas, birds and other animals soon learn where to get a drink.

2. The process or act of succumbing to an unexpected hazard or pitfall.
   • 1865, Coelbs Solon Smith, “A Case of Real Distress”, in Punch, volume 49, page 239:

     Now, falling in love is one thing, but pitfalling is another. A man dislikes the thought of being trapped into a marriage.

   • 1961, Men's Wear - Volume 143, page 2:

     It may take some trying and pitfalling, but the end result will be a lot more satisfying than George Babbitt's uniform.

   • 2005, John O. Burtis, ‎Paul D. Turman, Group Communication Pitfalls, page 65:

     Pitfalling can be by commission, when grouping members do something that gets them into trouble. Pitfalling can be by omission, when grouping members fail to anticipate and avoid, or to address and work through, a problem.

   • 2013, M.A. Ali, Environmental Physiology of Fishes, page 673:

     To exemplify such constraints and appropriately conclude the chapter, our last example will be an actual case of pitfalling (a recent one of ours!) .