back-pedal

At the time, Nigeria also warned that it would not tolerate Ukraine's recruitment drive, forcing it to back-pedal.

From BBC ● Dec. 1, 2025

Like a standup comedian who realizes he has gone too far, he was forced to back-pedal: “No, no. Don’t worry, nobody accepted it. But I tried like hell, I’ll tell you.”

From The Guardian ● May 17, 2019

Carrey isn’t the first actor to back-pedal on a project—but he’s still bringing something new into the mix.

From Time ● Jun. 25, 2013

After jokingly offering to marry Owens if she moved from Kentucky to Illinois, Lincoln tried to back-pedal when she appeared genuinely interested.

From Slate ● Nov. 17, 2012

A second later, he was standing on my toes, elbows jammed into my chest, as he tried to back-pedal into the closet-sized kitchen we'd just left.

From Little Brother by Doctorow, Cory

Conklin’s knee collapsed under him as he back-pedaled and he struggled just walking to the sideline before being carted to the locker room.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 29, 2021

He back-pedaled as Canelo pursued, sensing perhaps that the Russian was showing some signs of fatigue.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2019

In the meantime, they have back-pedaled on some of the claims originally listed in the initial pitch.

From Scientific American ● Oct. 3, 2014

But as thousands of people in Ukraine worried about their exposures from the Chernobyl blast, Soviet medical officials back-pedaled on the FIB-4 doctors’ original findings.

From Slate ● Apr. 18, 2013

But there was a slight limp in his movement as he back-pedaled away from the Nipe.

From Anything You Can Do! by Garrett, Randall

Making the goal better was the back-pedaling Marshall’s desperate dive in a forlorn bid to stop the ball from going in.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 12, 2021

Harvard's back-pedaling follows protests from high-profile figures in the U.S. intelligence community after Harvard made the initial announcement Wednesday.

From Time ● Sep. 15, 2017

The back-pedaling Villa nodded an expert header back across the goal and beyond Hamid’s reach.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 12, 2017

In others —  many, many others —  the back-pedaling by defenders doesn’t last nearly as long.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 31, 2017

Yet despite reviewers’ complaints about the nano’s missing playback buttons, it’s hard to imagine Apple back-pedaling.

From Slate ● Nov. 3, 2011

Hope hooked Mahmood, Carse misjudged, back-pedalled and stuck up a hand to produce a copy of Ben Stokes's famous grab at The Oval during the 2019 World Cup.

From BBC ● May 29, 2025

Ivana later back-pedalled on the statement, according to previous coverage by Salon, saying:

From Salon ● Jul. 14, 2022

The government back-pedalled on the planned reopening this week for international tourism due to the threat of the Omicron variant.

From Reuters ● Dec. 2, 2021

But those hopes were soon dashed as their scrum back-pedalled furiously, presenting Sexton with a shot at goal that he steered between the uprights.

From The Guardian ● Nov. 24, 2012

He determined to keep his feet going as long as he safely could, and he back-pedalled gently to keep them in place.

From Harper's Round Table, October 22, 1895 by Various

Dutton has had to do some back-pedalling on comments he made earlier in the year.

From BBC ● May 1, 2025

Jamal attacked Carse’s bouncers, producing a steepling top edge that Ollie Pope dropped while back-pedalling from square leg.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2024

From just inside City’s half the No9’s attempted lob had Bravo back-pedalling to tip over.

From The Guardian ● Nov. 5, 2016

After centuries of perfecting the ritual of ‘civilized’ dining, there is a furious back-pedalling, a wilding, even among the chefs who employ the most cutting-edge techniques.

From Slate ● Nov. 7, 2013

A locking-ring R with a left-hand thread, screwed tight against the chain-wheel, prevents the latter from being unscrewed by back-pedalling.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 7 "Bible" to "Bisectrix" by Various