[N7.]

Originally Posted by Alcoremortis

1. "Call off" is used in a very similar way as "abort". It means we were going to do something but can't do it any more so have to cancel. In the airstrike context, it implies that a higher ranking person is doing the canceling.

2. A trailblazer is another word for a pioneer, an explorer. So when we say someone's a trailblazer, it's like saying that they're adventurous and trying something brand new.

3. This one's a bit tricky. It usually would be associated with another sentence. Then "'Had' being the operative word." would be an emphasis on the fact that something in the previous sentence only was a thing of the past and not necessarily true now.

4. "Step on it" refers to stepping on the gas pedal of a vehicle. So it basically means "drive faster" or in broader usage "do anything faster".

Thanks, Clear and useful