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   straddle

   /ˈstradl/

   verb

   • 1. sit or stand with one leg on either side of: "he turned the chair round and straddled it" Similar sit/stand astridebestridebestraddlemountget on
   • ▪ place (one's legs) wide apart: "he shifted his legs, straddling them to keep his balance"
   • ▪ stand, walk, or sit with one's legs wide apart: "the colonel straddled in front of the fire"
   • ▪ extend across or be situated on both sides of: "a mountain range straddling the Franco-Swiss border" Similar lie on both sides ofbe situated on both sides ofextend acrossspan
   • ▪ take up or maintain an equivocal position with regard to (a political issue): "a man who had straddled the issue of taxes" Similar be equivocal aboutbe undecided aboutbe non-committal aboutequivocate aboutvacillate aboutwaver abouthum and hawinformal:sit on the fence
   • ▪ fire at (a target) with shots or bombs so that they fall short of and beyond it: "the crew of a plane straddled the submarine with depth charges"

   noun

   • 1. an act of sitting or standing with one's legs wide apart: "a sideways-on stance such as a straddle"
   • 2. a simultaneous purchase of options to buy and to sell a security or commodity at a fixed price, allowing the purchaser to make a profit whether the price of the security or commodity goes up or down.

   Word Origin mid 16th century: alteration of dialect striddle, back-formation from dialect striddling ‘astride’, from stride + the adverbial suffix -ling.

   Derivatives

   • 1. straddler noun

   Scrabble Points: 10

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   • L

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