windup

[ wahynd-uhp ]

/ ˈwaɪndˌʌp /

the conclusion of any action, activity, etc.; the end or close.

a final act or part.

Baseball. the preparatory movements of the arm before pitching a ball. Compare stretch(def 22).

Informal. a mechanical object, as a toy or wristwatch, that is driven by a spring or similar mechanism that must be wound.

an act or instance of winding up.

Origin of windup

First recorded in 1565–75; noun use of verb phrase wind up

After all that windup, it was finally time for Mitt Romney to make the most difficult and important sales pitch of his life.

Paul Begala on Mitt Romney’s Epic Fail in His GOP Convention Speech |Paul Begala |August 31, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
Our morning meal was like a capital English breakfast, with coffee by way of a windup.

A Journey to the Centre of the Earth |Jules Verne
He was disguised as a prima ballerina for the purpose, and as a windup he danced, with great skill and abandon, a can-can.

A Little Garrison |Fritz von der Kyrburg
“I find that a bit of noise always helps after we get the windup with the bayonet, sir,” he explained to Dalroy.

The Day of Wrath |Louis Tracy

It would have been something of a windup to send the boy to the penitentiary.

Dominie Dean |Ellis Parker Butler
He stopped his windup and threw to Menken, who was covering the rubber and yelling to him to throw.

Baseball Joe, Home Run King |Lester Chadwick