Both Uses of
recoil
in
The Return of the King
- Before his upraised hand the foul Messenger recoiled, and Gandalf coming seized and took from him the tokens: coat, cloak, and sword.†
Chpt 5.10 *
- The hobbits recoiled.†
Chpt 6.8
Definition:
-
(recoil) to move backward suddenly (sometimes figuratively)especially:
- the backward jerk of a gun or cannon when it is fired
- when a person flinches (suddenly draws back) from someone or something, as with fear, disgust, or pain
- when a person is emotionally repulsed, as by disgust
- when something intended to go in one direction figuratively falls back in the opposite direction; for example, a story told to hurt someone that comes back to hurt the teller