backpedaling

verb

1. (US, form-of, gerund, participle, present)present participle and gerund of backpedal

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)The act of distancing oneself from a previously supported idea, action, behaviour, etc.; a U-turn or flip-flop.

   “Despite the swift backpedalling of the university, the original notice given to stall operators is suggestive of the potential existence of ‘a growing English-speaking elite’ that is ‘happy to maintain the importance of the English language’.”