go-backs

English

Noun

go-backs

1. plural of go-back

Noun

go-backs pl (plural only)

1. (dated, US) A supposed disease of children causing weight loss and lack of growth.
   • 1892, Journal of American Folklore, volume 5, page 108:

     The scales are not yet asked to give a casting vote, but the gap between the growth which mother wants and that which baby yields seems to widen, and the reason becomes more and more mysterious until some wiser dame whispers the dreaded words: "It has the Go-backs," and others echo, "It has the Go-backs."

   • 1994, Nancy Sullivan, A treasury of American folklore: our customs, beliefs, and traditions:

     If the length of the string is an exact multiple of the length of the foot, nothing is wrong, but if there is a remainder, however small, the baby has the Go-backs, and the extent of the malady is proportional to this remainder.