Readers React: In the Trump era, ‘walk back’ is the new way to say ‘he lied’

To the editor: There’s nothing that demonstrates English is a living language more convincingly than the fact that new expressions are constantly working their way into it. My current favorite is “walking it back.”

As Los Angeles Times reporter Chris Megerian writes in his article on the latest addition to the president’s legal team, “[Rudy] Giuliani issued another statement trying to walk back some of his comments.” That’s a not-too-convincing way of saying he told a lie, was caught lying and was forced to admit it.

If you walk something back, is it like you’re walking a dog and yanking back on his leash, even when the dog wants to go forward? Or do you actually walk backward?

Apparently we no longer admit we told a lie, we walk it back. Is ours a living language or what?

Larry Arnstein, Santa Monica

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