take aback

Surprise, shock, as in He was taken aback by her caustic remark. This idiom comes from nautical terminology of the mid-1700s, when be taken aback referred to the stalling of a ship caused by a wind shift that made the sails lay back against the masts. Its figurative use was first recorded in 1829.

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Iosif	ee-O-seef (Russian), YO-seef (Romanian)	Russian, Romanian, Greek
'Eli'ezer	-	Biblical Hebrew
Rinat (2)	-	Hebrew
Hinrik	-	Icelandic
Barlaam	-	Judeo-Christian Legend
Jung	jung	Korean