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Comment by zachwlewis | Hacker News Reader

balk is the American spelling of baulk, meaning to hesitate, stop short, or refuse to proceed due to reluctance, fear, or an obstacle.

"He got personal visits from both Ballmer and Gates that pressured him to stay with Microsoft but did not balk" can be rephrased as "He was pressured by Microsoft [to stay with Windows] but that pressure did not cause him to hesitate [with switching to Linux]."

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If he did not balk that means he did not refuse. Which means he complied.

What he did not do was comply/capitulate/etc.

Merriam-Webster has balk as to stop short and refuse to proceed. To understand the intended meaning, put the emphasis on the first part: If the mayor did not balk, he did not stop, that is, he refused to comply and proceeded with his plan.

> Merriam-Webster has balk as to stop short and refuse to proceed. To understand the intended meaning, put the emphasis on the first part: If the mayor did not balk, he did not stop, that is, he refused to comply and proceeded with his plan.

I feel like one of us is extremely confused.

"Balk" = "stop" = "refuse to proceed", right?

So "<did not> balk" = "<did not> stop" = "<did not> refuse to proceed", right?

"<Did not> refuse to proceed" with Microsoft's proposal therefore means he in fact complied with Microsoft's proposal and did proceed with it, right?

The thing he "<Did not> refuse to proceed" with was LiMux, his project for moving away from Microsoft.

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