by F3LTZYY March 14, 2014
One of the hazards faced in days of sailing ships has been incorporated into English to describe someone who has been jolted by unpleasant news. We say that person has been "taken aback." The person is at a momentary loss; unable to act or even to speak. A danger faced by sailing ships was for a sudden shift in wind to come up (from a sudden squall), blowing the sails back against the masts, putting the ship in grave danger of having the masts break off and rendering the ship totally helpless. The ship was taken aback.
by One old man September 04, 2010
American pronounciation of Nagorny Karabakh, an Armenian speaking supposedly autonomous region in Azerbaijan, which until recently hosted a separatist republic od Artsakh. The transition of this territory to the hands of it's internationally recognized owner had to do with Russia, whom Amrenia has aliance with, was too busy supposedly protecting it's own people in Donbass by shooting rockets as far as Lviv to help. It didn't help that Azerbaijan is allied with Turkey, a problematic NATO member.
by j637man February 03, 2024