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Reader question: Please explain this sentence: “I’m sure he will have to walk back the comment.” Walk back the comment? My comments: Someone (he) made a comment on something. The speaker (I) thinks it’s an inappropriate remark and believes “he” will retract it, i.e. take it back. As we understand, to take back one’s remark is to admit that one said something wrong or false or insensitive or otherwise inappropriate. When we say something like that, we may apologize immediately saying: “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I take it back. Please act as if I never said anything.” Or something like that. Literally to walk back is to retract one’s steps and going backwards. For example, a man is walking his dog across the street but halfway through, he sees a car coming fast and so he walks the dog back to the sidewalk. In this case, clearly, not walking back or retracting may prove dangerous. So it is the right thing to do for the dog owner to walk his pet back. Hence and therefore, metaphorically, if someone walks his comment, criticism or statement back, it’s kind of similar, similar in that they probably find something wrong or inappropriate about the said comment, criticism or statement and want to take it back. If not take the whole thing back, they must want to clarify it, put it into greater context or otherwise explain themselves further. | 
