Both Uses of
balk
in
A Thousand Acres
- Here was Daddy, balked, not by a machine (he had talent and patience for machines), but by one of us, or by some trivial circumstance.†
p. 306.1 *
- When we go along, she balks.†
p. 60.9
Definitions:
-
(1)
(balk) to hesitate, refuse, or stop suddenly
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Less common specialized meanings:
Baseball: an illegal pitching motion while runners are on base
Equestrian: when a horse refuses to obey a rider -- especially when stopping in front of a jump
Billiards: an area of the billiard table from which opening shots with the cue ball are made
Bowling: when a bowler stops in mid-swing without releasing the ball
Badminton: any deceptive movement that disconcerts an opponent before or during the service
Archeology: a side wall of an excavated partition of earth left standing between adjoining excavation units
Agriculture: a strip of ground left unplowed as a boundary line between two plowed portions
Architecture: one of several parallel sloping beams that support a roof
Carpentry: a thick piece of unfinished wood