In Norwegian, to backpedal in the figurative sense is to row: Å ro . We make our discursive retreats not on a bike but in a vessel. And, really, the idiom is less overtly about retreat. More than a backwards motion, it evokes a mad dash towards land. To get elsewhere, anywhere but the awkward place we’ve cast ourselves with our careless speech, we use arms and oars at full, frantic force. I’ve tried to make a rule of not backpedaling, since it pretty much exclusively makes matters worse, but as I struggle to live by my own rules, I occasionally leave interactions in a ramshackle dinghy, desperate and graceless.

The idiom has been on my mind since the second week of the World Cup, when I first became aware of the Norwegian team’s post-game rowing ritual. That I’d remained oblivious to the rowing for that long seems inconceivable to me now. But then again, I didn’t see a single group stage match. Ahead of the tournament, I had intended to catch all of Norway’s games.…