balk

Related to balk: Belk, renege

balk at

To be hesitant about doing something or to refuse to do it. My dog balked at leaving the park. The young performer balked at taking the stage at the talent show.
See also: balk

balk at the idea (of something)

To indignantly reject or recoil from a given idea, topic, or suggestion. He balked at the idea of reducing the number of staff to pay for an increase to the executives' pay.
See also: balk, idea
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

balk at something

to resist and object to something; to shy away from doing something. I hope they don't balk at finishing their work. They will probably balk at it.
See also: balk
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

balk at

v.
1. To stop short and refuse to go on to do something: The horse balked at jumping over the fence.
2. To refuse something obstinately or abruptly: The politician balked at the compromise suggested by the opposing party.
See also: balk
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • balk at
  • pussy out
  • hiss
  • hiss (someone) off (the stage)
  • hiss off
  • balk at the idea (of something)
  • go great guns
  • going great guns
  • great guns
  • cloth
References in periodicals archive
Buckley came home from third on the balk, and his teammates mobbed him at home plate.
[alpha] [right arrow] 0, [b.sub.i] = 1, 0 [less than or equal to] i [less than or equal to] N - 1; that is, the customers neither balk nor renege.
Balk zips through piles of inventories, lists, flowcharts, diagrams, sequential imagery and the like, whose mannered and sometimes wackily Rube Goldberg-like inventiveness causes each to turn in on itself--less a critique of communication than a means to foreground its endless proliferation, even if in an initially manic way.
"I need continuous feed of the new technology," said Balk. "I can't wait five years in a normal acquisition program."
need to focus and not fool around," says Christy, "because you can hurt yourself when you balk in a dive."
Middle school students view themselves in front of an imaginary audience and are acutely self-conscious (Balk, 1995).
Moreover, many on the left argued that Bush intends to "energize the base" of conservatives on his behalf by nominating a solid constitutionalist to the court in order to please rebellious conservatives who balked at his earlier nomination of White House Counsel Harriet Miers.
The RIFM strives to be the international leader for the safe use of fragrance ingredients (Balk et al.
Whoever really has considered the lilies of the field or the birds of the air and pondered the improbability of their existence in this warm world within the cold and empty stellar distances will hardly balk at the turning of water into wine--which was, after all, a very small miracle.
It is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in intensive care units worldwide (Friedman, 1998, Balk, 2000), particularly in elderly, immuno-compromised and critically ill patients.
A second entry point was found in the work of Balk (1966) who proposed a model, which focuses on those coping mechanisms employed by older children who have experienced bereavement.
(I've never understood why people will spend $1,000+ for a two-day conference--airfare, hotel, registration--but balk at $242 for a subscription to a twice-monthly newsletter.
However, then and now, I balk at assuming that huge senior-level option grants align the executive with shareholder interests in a balanced way.
Our religious-based heterosexual society will balk at any attempt by homosexuals to have equal marriage rights.
* a new National Child Care strategy be developed between the federal government, the provinces and territories in the event that the provinces balk at the codicil for dedicated funds;