Word: aback
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Burger, who was just recovering from a persistent case of the flu, explained that his chores on behalf of the anniversary celebration were so time consuming that he could not fulfill them and still do justice to the court. According to his aides, the President was somewhat taken aback that Burger wanted to give up the court to keep the celebration. But he did not try to talk the Chief Justice out of his decision. At least one reason was that Burger's timing was politically opportune. The Republicans stand a real chance of losing control of the Senate this...
...Even in an innocent rooming group, people have a hard time understanding. I've gotten some negative reactions," says his roommate "Karen." "Last year a freshman asked if she could see my room, and when she found out my roommates were guys, she was really taken aback...
...expression of anguish was the comment which says it all: "She asked for it." You don't have to be a Response rape counselor or a "radical communist lesbian" to be shocked by the realization that Harvard students think these issues are funny. Yet, these gentlemen were taken aback when house members complained. It had not occured to them that their behavior was offensive...
...Glawe, an Argentine-born engineer with a German father, described in a deposition how he had been drawn into the expatriate circles of Gerhard and the Bosserts. Only one year after that initial meeting, said Glawe, Gerhard asked him if he would help an old Austrian friend. Somewhat taken aback at this request, Glawe eventually acquiesced and began paying monthly visits to the aging Pedro, bringing him biscuits and chocolate. Surprisingly, said Glawe, Pedro spoke little about his life in Europe, though he said he had served as a doctor in the German army. Glawe at last began to suspect...
...Born and raised in Melbourne, Murdoch inherited a pair of struggling newspapers in Adelaide from his father in 1952; from that puny seed grew Murdoch's $1.8 billion-a-year empire, which still has headquarters in Australia (see chart). Even Murdoch's mother, who lives near Melbourne, seemed taken aback. "It was quite a bit to swallow at first," says Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, 76, "but that doesn't alter the fact that Rupert is still fond of his country...