mopped-up

Updated: May 15, 2025

Wherever they discovered that machine-gun nests had been placed these were "mopped-up" by surrounding them, and then attacking from the rear, while the attention of the defenders of the stone house, or it might be a windmill foundation, was gripped by a pretense at frontal assault. Those who had participated in the air raid on the bridge were given a day off, so as to recuperate.

Charles Amory Beach - Air Service Boys over the Atlantic