clawback

Deverbal from claw back. In the financial senses, refers to something being "clawed back", or reclaimed; in the sense of a flatterer, it suggests the idea of a person's back being scratched (see scratch someone's back).

clawback (countable and uncountable, plural clawbacks)

1. (US law of evidence) A rule that permits a party to take back evidentiary materials that were mistakenly turned over to the other party but to which the other party would not have been entitled.
2. (US taxation law) Money that a party is entitled to keep under one tax provision but is taken by another tax provision.
3. (US, business) Any recovery of a performance-related payment based on discovery that the performance was not genuine.

   Hypernym: takeback

   The airline got a clawback provision in the event of failure of the engines to meet fuel-consumption targets.

4. (obsolete) A flatterer or sycophant.
   • 1549 March 25 (Gregorian calendar), Hughe Latymer [i.e., Hugh Latimer], Augustine Bernher, compiler, “.] The Second Sermon of Maister Hughe Latimer, which He Preached before King Edward .”, in Certayn Godly Sermons, Made uppon the Lords Prayer, , London: John Day, , published 1562, →OCLC, folio 36, verso:

     Take hede of theſe claubackes, theſe venemous people that wil come to you, that will folowe like Gnatoes and Paraſites, if you folowe them, you are oute of your boke.

• (business: recovery of performance payment): malus

• disgorgement