292. ¿Qué significa back?

Se usa back con el significado de ‘estar, o mover, a cierta distancia’:

Make sure the children stand well back from the barbecue.

Once the police got there, they moved everyone back.

En el siguiente ejemplo se utiliza también back para hablar de la “distancia mental” que establece para expresar la decisión de tomarse un tiempo antes de iniciar algo:

We need to take a step back and think about why this has happened.

La idea de reclinarse hacia atrás, que transmite la sensación de estar relajado, ha terminado usándose de manera figurada:

I’ll make the tea. You sit back and put your feet up.

He’s a great boss. He’s really laid back (tranquilo, sin drama).

Back también se usa con el significado de ‘retener’ o ‘impedir que algo o alguien se desplace a otro sitio’:

Ethan and Brad were kept back by the teacher after school for not doing their homework.

Debbie always ties her hair back so it doesn’t bother her while she’s working.

Esa noción de impedir que algo o alguien avance va asociado a los conceptos de ‘restricción’ y ‘rechazo’:

You need to cut back on salt, fat and sugar, Mr McCorry, or you’ll have another heart attack.

Sam asked her out for a drink, but she knocked him back.

She’s really ambitious, but a lack of confidence held her back and she never fulfilled her ambitions.

El uso más común de back, sin embargo, tal vez sea el de expresar que algo vuelve a una posición anterior:

We went back to where we’d stayed on our honeymoon.

Can you put the scissors back in the drawer when you’re finished, please?

They’re broken, so I’m going to take them back to the shop.

Ten years after releasing his last album, the singer is making a comeback.

A menudo, esa posición anterior es el domicilio habitual o el lugar de trabajo:

I’m back! Is there anything for dinner?

Ms Jorgenson is not due back from maternity leave until next month.

Volver a hacer una actividad significa que esta se repite, así que usamos back para indicarlo:

Martha smiled at me, so I smiled back.

Can you call me back later? I’m just in the middle of dinner.

Play that last song back. It’s lovely.

Y si pensamos en el tiempo que avanza, es inevitable que back signifique ‘un tiempo anterior’, ‘retroceder en el tiempo’:

“When I think back to all the crap I learnt at high school, it’s a wonder I can think at all” (de la canción Kodachrome, de Paul Simon).

Emilio and I go way back. We first met in 1968.

The smell of baking takes me back to my granny’s house.