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
Zosimus	-	Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Beth	[beθ]
Rusudan	-	Georgian
LÉAn	-	Irish
Clotilde	klo-TEELD (French)	French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
Ginny	JIN-ee	English