BALKING

 BALKING

Balking means to stop short or hesitate, refusing to go forward, like a horse refusing a jump, or someone recoiling from an idea, and it also refers to an illegal motion by a baseball pitcher, while in queue theory, it's when a customer decides not to join a line. Essentially, it's about being checked, obstructed, or deliberately avoiding something, often due to reluctance or an obstacle. 

General Meanings

To stop short/hesitate: To halt suddenly, often refusing to proceed, like "the horse balked at the fence" or "he balked at the difficult task".

To recoil/refuse: To turn away abruptly from something, such as an idea or demand.

To thwart/obstruct: To check, disappoint, or foil someone's plans.

To avoid: To deliberately dodge a question or issue. 

Specific Contexts

Baseball: An illegal move by a pitcher (e.g., starting a pitch to the plate but stopping, or faking a throw to first without throwing) that gives runners an unfair advantage.

Queueing Theory: When a potential customer sees a long line and decides not to join it at all (different from reneging, where they leave an existing line).

Computing (Balking Pattern): A design pattern where a method temporarily stops or "balks" if system conditions aren't right, preventing resource overload. 

Examples in a Sentence

"She was balking at the idea of moving to a new city".

"The pitcher was called for a balk after faking a throw to second base".

"The service faced a lot of customer balking during peak hours".