Talk:pencil whip

Etymology
I visited this page to see if there was any discussion of the origin of this idiomatic expression. I only get about 10k hits for "pencil whipped" or "pencil whipping" or "pencil whip" in Google search engine. I first heard the term in the 80's to describe when a coworker would fill out an inspection form quickly, without reading the questions and observing for the proper answers. Seems like whip means to do something hastily in this instance. Although, someone once explained to me that the pencil moves as fast as a whip when it should take a minute between each check mark or initial. We had to use black pens...who uses pencils? Rubber stamp does sound close to the same meaning, yet there always seemed to be an implication when I heard the term, that there was a chance that pencil whipping could end in catastrophe. Whereas rubber stamping seems like it often applies to bureaucratic nonsense and official sign offs that are inevitable.


 * Yeah, I would have assumed it was "whipping" in the sense of moving quickly, e.g. whipping a curtain aside. The pencil is rapidly whipped over the form to complete or sign it. Equinox ◑ 17:58, 10 February 2020 (UTC)

Hyphenation
Probably more commonly hyphenated, i.e. : see cites. Consider a move. Equinox ◑ 17:58, 10 February 2020 (UTC)