ricochet

Etymology

Borrowed from French ricochet, of uncertain origin.

noun

1. (military) A method of firing a projectile so that it skips along a surface.
2. An instance of ricocheting; a glancing rebound.
   And you've not been hit / By flying lead / You'd better close your eyes / Bow your head / Wait for the ricochet 1970, “Child in Time”, in Deep Purple in Rock, performed by Deep Purple

verb

1. To rebound off something wildly in a seemingly random direction.
   Everything that could go right for England did although they never felt lucky and they chuckled at Kane’s third that ricocheted off his heel while he was looking the other way. June 24 2018, Sam Wallace, “Harry Kane scores hat-trick as England hit Panama for six to secure World Cup knock-out qualification”, in Telegraph (UK), retrieved 2018-06-24
   The truth is that our love / Will ricochet through eternity 2023, “It Must Change”, in My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross, performed by ANOHNI
   Before the interval an Alibade strike ricocheted off the back of Bright after Ifeoma Onumonu’s cutback. Then in added time Uchenna Kanu smacked a header off the top of the bar. 2023-08-07, Suzanne Wrack, “England beat Nigeria on penalties to reach Women’s World Cup quarter-finals”, in The Guardian
2. (military) To operate upon by ricochet firing.