(adv.) Backward against the mast; -- said of the sails when pressed by the wind.
(n.) An abacus.
Example Sentences:
(1) Sources said that when Mitchell toured the Commons tea rooms on Wednesday and Thursday, he was taken aback by the opposition to him staying put, despite Cameron's support.
(2) Facebook Twitter Pinterest ‘Our political leaders can’t bear to face the truth’: Camila Batmanghelidjh spoke to the Guardian’s Patrick Butler in July “So you can understand that I am taken aback by allegations which now present themselves, about which I knew nothing.” Kids Company, set up by the charismatic Batmanghelidjh in 1996, was known to have the firm support of David Cameron for its work on gang violence and disadvantaged children.
(3) "At first I was taken aback by how quickly this thing blew up."
(4) Everyone was taken aback by Harrison's generosity, not least Idle.
(5) In the summer of 2015, Corbyn himself was taken aback by the surge in support for his message.
(6) Gaskill, who had found the play abandoned on a shelf at the Royal Court and decided to stage it the moment he read it, was equally taken aback.
(7) The ferocity of the battle, once the results of the prime minister’s negotiations with his EU partners had been announced, has taken Downing Street aback.
(8) A father of four children in the Palisades, a wealthy neighborhood in west Los Angeles, was taken aback when he accompanied his 12-year-old son on a camping trip with scouts.
(9) Still, I'm taken aback by the immediate and vocal lack of enthusiasm for Steve Jobs's new product.
(10) Mallett said he had rebuffed the offer, which had come four years too late as far as he was concerned, but when it was put to Lancaster before England’s dead rubber against Uruguay he was immediately taken aback.
(11) For a few days, we were all really taken aback.” On Thursday, Dixons reported that its Greek arm, Kotsovolos , was seeing big-ticket items fly off the shelves.
(12) Labour seized on the ministerial disarray over the policy.Yvette Cooper, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said: "The government's unfair attack on child benefit is now unravelling ... they have clearly been taken aback by the reaction of parents across the country."
(13) Although the player has developed a thick skin, not least while he agitated for a move away from Anfield, he has been taken aback by the level of criticism that has been flung his way – particularly online – over Euro 2016 and apparently feels he has been made a scapegoat for England’s shortcomings at the tournament.
(14) For his part, Chu admits he was taken aback by his entry to Washington life.
(15) On Monday night, Lib Dem MPs were taken aback by the strength of opposition to a deal with Labour from within the Labour parliamentary party.
(16) They also told me hospitals around Aleppo and Idlib have had Red Cross symbols removed because they are becoming a target for the Russians.” Taken aback by what he was told by the group of rescue workers, trainees known as the white helmets, he continued: “We in Britain have been rightly challenged about Saudi Arabia in Yemen and why we maintain our confidence in the Saudis not breaching international law.
(17) "I think they were taken aback by how quickly the region – in which they have invested a lot of time and energy and diplomacy, and a lot of human and monetary resources – turned against them," said Jakobson.
(18) The other half would not have been remotely taken aback.
(19) Welfare groups told the Senate community affairs committee they were taken aback by how “harsh” the budget was and believed it would be more balanced.
(20) He was taken aback to have his application for benefits turned down.
Alack
Definition:
(interj.) An exclamation expressive of sorrow.
Example Sentences:
(1) Felton, who has been keeping a close – and worried – eye on the council’s decisions, won’t be able to attend the protests due to alack of transport.
(2) Alas, alack, way off the mark, which is a shame as Craig probably could have done with something to take the edge off Kirk's take on sex education.