crawfish out
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Verb: - To withdraw from a commitment, promise, or difficult situation; to back out. This is an informal expression, often implying a retreat due to fear, difficulty, or a change of mind.
Usage
This phrasal verb is used to describe the act of reneging on an agreement or avoiding a responsibility one had previously accepted. It carries a connotation of retreating, similar to how a crawfish (crayfish) moves backward. - It is typically followed by the preposition "of" when specifying the commitment being abandoned (e.g., crawfish out of a deal). - It can be used without an object or with an indirect object.
Examples
- After seeing the complexity of the project, he tried to crawfish out.
- You can't just crawfish out of your promise to help us move.
- They agreed to fund the event but crawfished out at the last minute.
Advanced Usage
- "to crawfish out on someone": To fail to support or fulfill a commitment to a person.
- He said he would be my business partner, but he crawfished out on me when we needed capital.
Variants and Related Words
- Crawfish (verb): A less common variant meaning the same as "crawfish out."
- Don't crawfish on our agreement now.
- Back out (phrasal verb): A more common synonym with the same meaning.
- Pull out (phrasal verb): To withdraw from an involvement or commitment.
Synonyms
- Back out
- Withdraw
- Retreat
- Pull out
- Reneg
Related Phrasal Verbs
- Back out (of something): To decide not to do something you had agreed to do.
- The investor backed out of the contract.
- Pull out (of something): To withdraw from a situation or commitment.
- The company pulled out of the merger talks.
- Chicken out (informal): To decide not to do something because of fear.
- He chickened out of the bungee jump at the last second.
Verb
- make a retreat from an earlier commitment or activity
- We'll have to crawfish out from meeting with him
- He backed out of his earlier promise
- The aggressive investment company pulled in its horns