Meaning of slipstreamer | Babel Free

Definitions

1. Someone who follows a slipstream in a race.
2. Someone who goes with the flow; someone who follows with what others are doing.
   figuratively
3. A race in which the shape of the track causes extensive slipstreams to form behind each car.
4. Someone who writes slipstream fiction ("a genre of fantastic or non-realistic fiction that crosses conventional genre boundaries").

Examples

“He headed the leading group over the col, class riders every one, no wheel-suckers keeping the shade of the men doing the work⟳. 'Never gets a tan', they say⟳ of the slipstreamers.”

“Slipstreaming athletes save⟳ energy—at the speeds involved in cycling, energy savings can be 33% or more. Obviously the slipstreamer cannot go faster than the leading rider, but if the leader is a powered vehicle capable of great speed⟳ then the slipstreaming rider can go correspondingly fast.”

“Even though horses are racing, they can spot things and that's why they put⟳ blinkers on so they can focus⟳ better. The best thing is to get⟳ your horse in the slipstream of the leader. It's a bit like⟳ cycling with its pacemakers and its slipstreamers.”

“Men are slipstreamers, David. Did you ever see⟳ a car follow⟳ close⟳ behind a big truck to take⟳ advantage of the windbreak to make⟳ the driving easier? That's the way people are. They'll follow⟳ so close⟳ they can't see⟳ six inches beyond their noses, as long as it makes things easier. And the schools and the teachers are the biggest windbreaks of all.”

“He had a special bond with my father, a bond that I was hard-pressed to understand⟳, that involved doing stuff. The two of them skied and hiked and fly-fished. I did those things, too, but as a kind of slipstreamer, along for the ride⟳.”

“Murphy was not Swan's first choice of partner for a case like⟳ this, or any case. But he was the only other Murder⟳ Squad detective available, since all the rest⟳ were up in Dundalk for a double⟳ shooting. TP was not only a leadswinger and a slipstreamer, he looked like⟳ a right throwback too, with those sideburns and aviator specs, not to mention⟳ the wide tie just hiding the gaps between his strained shirt buttons.”

“Sometimes, on bad days, the group never gets organized. It becomes a herky-jerky mess. Someone gets going too fast for the person and the group loses contact⟳ with the leader, losing any benefit from the leader's work⟳. Or mauybe someone is tired and can't take⟳ a turn⟳ at the lead⟳, leaving a dead spot in the squad. Such "slipstreamers" can be found in all walks of life; people who coast along on the labor of others, but too seldom take⟳ their own⟳ pull⟳ at the front.”

“[Robert ] Grosseteste in this sense⟳ was a slipstreamer. In his book about him, James McEvoy writes, 'Grosseteste's interest⟳ in natural questions was both genuine and deep. Part of his motivation for inquiry undoubtedly lay⟳ in his religious faith.”

“Boca was what was known as a slipstreamer track. The long straightaways gave rise⟳ to the phenomenon known as slipstreaming, which was the partial vacuum created by the lead⟳ car as it reached the high speeds possible on the track. This vacuum created behind the lead⟳ car gave the second driver an advantage, for he could profit by the lack of air resistance to take⟳ the lead⟳ himself.”

“Dating back to 1925, Reims was a five-mile blast along public roads. It was best known for its long main straight — the Thillois straight — which made every race⟳ into a dramatic slipstreamer.”

“The few Formula 3 races I'd won had been slipstreamers, where you only had to be in the right place⟳ on the last⟳ lap to win⟳.”

“Throw⟳ in the two DRS (drag⟳ reduction system) zones to assist with overtaking this year, as well as KERS (kinetic energy recovery system), and it is no wonder⟳ Whitmarsh is full of anticipation for the weekend ahead. ¶ "Perhaps it's a bit premature to be discussing the return⟳ of the epic 'Monza slipstreamer'," said Whitmarsh.”

“"Britain is soaring into the future with a wealth of talented science fiction writers”—Zenith's blurb overstates the case; but it could be truthfully said that "Britain is motoring sedately into a retro-eclectic fantasyland with a talented clique of slipstreamers and true-quill weirdos."”

“For the rest⟳ of us — slipstreamers, alpha males, difficult women, neophytes, neighbours, expats — it's down the long chute together, into a heap at the heart of a late year.”

“In his provocative 1998 essay, "The Squandered Promise⟳ of Science Fiction", sometime slipstreamer Jonathan Lethem proposed an alternate history of our genre.”

CEFR level