Make Your Point > Archived Issues > BACKPEDAL
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connect this word to others:
Backpedal strikes a funny tone, while re__ge strikes a serious one.
They can mean the same thing: to change your mind and go back on a promise or a commitment.
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make your point with...
"BACKPEDAL"
Like it sounds, to backpedal is to try to back up and fix a mistake, change what you said, or entirely take back what you said.
That's figurative backpedalling, and it's usually awkward. Literal backpedalling can be graceful: it's something bicyclists do, and it's also a technique that athletes like boxers and football players use, a kind of light, controlled backwards run.
Pronunciation:
BACK ped ull
Part of speech:
Verb, usually the intransitive kind ("they backpedalled hard," "she backpedalled on the promise")
and sometimes the transitive kind ("he backpedalled his earlier statement").
Other forms:
Backpedalled, backpedalling.
(If you prefer, use a single "l" instead of a double: "backpedaled," "backpedaling.")
(Sometimes you'll see a hyphen: "back-pedal," "back-pedalled," "back-pedalling." Hyphens help us process units of meaning that might surprise us in combination, but in this case, it's not really needed; we've been talking and writing about backpedalling since 1887.)
How to use it:
The key here, again, is that backpedalling is usually awkward. It's hard to say "Wait, wait, wait, uh, that's not what I meant" or "Um, uh, okay, I've got to take that back" without looking panicked and dorky, and that kind of clumsiness is perfectly conveyed in this word.
In general, we backpedal for two reasons. First, we realize we were wrong or that we offended someone. And second, we realize we have no intention of delivering on our promises, so we're snatching them back.
So, talk about people backpedalling, often on a statement, a comment, a claim, a promise, or a commitment they made earlier.
examples:
"Secretary of State David Whitley spoke publicly Thursday for the first time since his office questioned the citizenship of thousands of Texas voters since 1996. But the state quickly backpedaled after discovering scores of voters were wrongly flagged."
— Paul J. Weber, AP News, 7 February 2019
"Unfortunately, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food ...has said that there was absolutely no risk of certain things happening [such as outbreaks of disease]; most of them have now happened, and the ministry is continually backpedalling to reassure the public."
— Jeremy J. Cherfas, Round Table Discussion on BIOSCIENCE ⇋ SOCIETY, 2013
has this page helped you understand "backpedal"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "backpedal" without saying "walk it back" or "retract."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "(Realizing or remembering) (some fact), (someone) backpedalled on (his or her) (assessment or description of something, or promise or commitment to do something)."
Example: "Remembering that our local Burger King had a broken ice cream machine ninety-three percent of the time, I backpedalled on my promise of a milkshake."
before you review, play:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
Our game last month was Big Bang Thicket.
In each issue, you hacked your way through the polysyllabic title of an episode of The Big Bang Theory, using your knowledge of vocabulary to answer the question about what happens in that episode.
From the previous issue:
In "The Confidence Erosion," does Raj's self-confidence falter or multiply?
Answer:
It faltered: to erode is to be destroyed bit by bit, as if by something nibbling away at it--in this case, by the harsh teasing of an otherwise good friend.
Now, for August: the time-honored Game of Venery!
Did you see this Downton Abbey episode?
Rose: "What's a group noun for suitors?"
Cora: "What do you think, a 'desire'?"
Rosamund: "A desire of suitors. Very good."
Above, the girls were briefly indulging in the game of venery, where you make up names for groups of things: suitors, bullfrogs, dirty dishes, anything you want.
Recently, when we studied the word exalt, I mentioned that the official name for a group of larks is an "exaltation of larks"--and that there's an entire silly book, An Exaltation of Larks, that brings together old, poetic, and made-up terms for groups of things: terms that the author, James Lipton, calls "shards of poetry and truth," including lovely terms like "a conflagration of fireflies" and silly ones like "a myopia of umpires," "a rash of dermatologists," and "an unemployment of graduates." Along with these lists, the book invites you to invent your own: to play the game of venery. Which we will!
In each issue this month, I'll offer two templates. Have fun filling them in and sharing your inventions with your family, being as lofty, silly, or bawdy as you like. In each subsequent issue, I'll list the actual terms that appear in Lipton's book.
Try these today:
1. A grandiloquence of _____
2. A _____ of monkeys
review this word:
1. A near opposite of BACKPEDAL is
A. SUSTAIN.
B. RECYCLE.
C. RESPECT.
2. The lawyer kept backpedalling, _____.
A. rephrasing his questions as if fearful of causing offense
B. interrupting the witnesses whenever they veered off topic
C. fiddling with his notes in long, drawn-out, awkward pauses
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Backpedal strikes a funny tone, while re__ge strikes a serious one.
"BACKPEDAL" Like it sounds, to backpedal is to try to back up and fix a mistake, change what you said, or entirely take back what you said.
"Secretary of State David Whitley spoke publicly Thursday for the first time since his office questioned the citizenship of thousands of Texas voters since 1996. But the state quickly backpedaled after discovering scores of voters were wrongly flagged."
Explain the meaning of "backpedal" without saying "walk it back" or "retract."
Fill in the blanks: "(Realizing or remembering) (some fact), (someone) backpedalled on (his or her) (assessment or description of something, or promise or commitment to do something)."
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. A near opposite of BACKPEDAL is
|