The Only Use of
recoil
in
The Cask of Amontillado
- "You jest," he exclaimed, recoiling a few paces.
recoiling = moving backward suddenly
Definition:
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