Word: aback
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...chapters loaded with mantras, definitions and people chatting over cups of herbal tea. The sense is of an essay padded to book length, but some of these miniatures work. A charmingly self-aware one describes the family car being struck by a bottle of salad dressing. Shapiro is taken aback; she had not put salad dressing on her list of fears...
...first time I came across Salinger, I swore in my head for a week. My ninth-grade English teacher assigned us to write fairy tales in Holden’s voice, and she was taken aback by my willingness, sweet little 15-year-old and all, to adopt Holden’s goddam style right down to the goddam word...
...Wisconsin native and lifelong Green Bay Packers fan who has watched or followed every single Favre start, who has more than once become caught up in the popular hometown debates as to whether Favre is a traitor to the team he led to two Super Bowls, I was taken aback by the identity crisis I experienced on Sunday. My quarterback - the man who once had my reserved father screaming in joy during the first touchdown pass of Super Bowl XXXI - was 30 seconds away from the glory of a third title game ... as the leader of another football team...
...support for the President's plan for Afghanistan, Emanuel approached Graham. The Senator told Emanuel the troop number needed to "begin with 3" and have the backing of the generals to win Republican support. But when the 30,000-troop increase came with a withdrawal timeline, Graham was taken aback. The White House is now working to reassure him the deadline is not a hard one. Still, Graham is encouraging his colleagues to sign on. "I hope that Republicans can see fit to support the President's surge," he says. And most do. (See pictures of Person of the Year...
...night before, exploded at me: “Do you see any of the other patients roaming the halls making demands? Do you have an appointment? No, I don’t think so. What makes you think you’re so special?” Thoroughly taken aback, I tried to get out that all I wanted was an idea of when I’d be able to leave so that I could plan my day. Frustrated, I trudged back to my room, and a nurse had to be sent in to calm me down. The daytime...