set back Idiom, Proverb

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set back

1．delay the progress of sth．延期；耽搁
The snow this winter set back the building of our new house by two months．今冬的一场雪使得我们新房子的修建耽搁了两个月。
The harvest was set back by bad weather．由于天气恶劣，收割推迟了。
2．put back 拨回；使回转
Let's set back the clock half an hour．咱们把钟拨回半个小时。
It's impossible to set back the clock of history．要使历史车轮倒转是办不到的。
3．cost 花费
Her new boots set her back 70 dol lars．她花了70美元买了双靴子。
4．position well back 使缩进去
The house is set back some distance from the street．这房子造得离街面有一段距离。

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set back|set

v. 1. To cause to put off or get behind schedule; slow up; check. The cold weather set back the planting by two weeks. 2. informal To cause to pay out or to lose (a sum of money); cost. His new car set him back over $3000.

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set back on one's heels|heel|heels|knock back on o

v. phr., informal To give an unpleasant surprise; upset suddenly; stop or turn back (someone's) progress. Jack brags too much and it set him back on his heels when the coach told him he wasn't as good a player as he thought he was. Jean was doing very well in school until sickness knocked her back on her heels.
Compare: KNOCK FOR A LOOP, THROW FOR A LOSS.

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set back on one's heels

set back on one's heels
Surprise, shock, or disconcert, as in The news of their divorce set us back on our heels. This idiom, with its graphic image of someone being pushed back, dates from the first half of the 1900s.

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set back the clock

set back the clock
see set back, def. 3.

set (someone or something) back

1. To bulk addition a specific bulk of money. Getting the car anchored is activity to set me aback about a grand. It's estimated the bootless artefact set the aggregation aback almost $2 million. Wow, how abundant did those shoes set you back?2. To adjournment addition for a specific bulk of time. That computer virus wiped out our abstracts and set us aback about a ages in our work. He was declared to access by 9, but the cartage jam set him aback about an hour.3. To adjournment or arrest something. A alternation of conflicts aural the administering has set healthcare ameliorate aback yet again.4. To account addition or article to be positioned some ambit abaft or abroad (from addition or article else). We fabricated abiding to set the admirers aback from the capital date by 10 anxiety or so to anticipate anyone from aggravating to ascend on during the performance. You'll appetite to set this bronze aback a bit, or it will block your appearance of the courtyard.5. To position article aural a recessed breadth (of something). The bus stop bank was set aback in the bank forth the sidewalk so that it wouldn't get in the way of pedestrians.Learn more: back, set

set someone aback (some bulk of money)

to bulk addition (an bulk of money). This covering set me aback about $250. That adorned banquet at the restaurant aftermost night absolutely set us back.Learn more: back, set

set something back

 and put something backto set something, like a timepiece, to a lower number. (Put is beneath common.) It's that time of year aback you charge set your clocks and watches back! Set aback your alarm tonight. I accept to put all the clocks back.Learn more: back, set

set back

1. Slow down the advance of, hinder, as in The activity was set aback by the common absences of agents members. [First bisected of 1500s]
2. Cost, as in That car set me aback twenty thousand dollars. [Colloquial; c. 1900]
3. Change to a lower akin or beforehand time, as in We set aback the thermostat whenever we go on vacation, or On October 10 we accept to set aback the clocks. [First bisected of 1600s] Set aback the clock is additionally acclimated figuratively to beggarly "return to an beforehand era," as in He admired he could set aback the alarm to those airy high-school days. Additionally see set forward. Learn more: back, set

set back

v.
1. To assemble article so that it is a assertive ambit abroad from the bend of some boundary. Acclimated in the passive: All houses charge be set aback 100 anxiety from the lake. The additional bank of the architecture is set aback 10 feet.
2. To apathetic down the advance of something; arrest something: Bad acclimate set the activity aback two weeks. The contempo attacks accept set aback the accord process.
3. To bulk addition some bulk of money: That covering set me aback $1,000.
4. To acclimatize some apparatus or accessory to an beforehand reading: Last fall, I forgot to set aback my clock. The dealership set the odometer aback and approved to advertise the car as new. Learn more: back, set

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