A familiar undertow pulled him down; he wanted to be lower than she was.

It gave a little undertow of funk to the mood of lively curiosity with which I got aboard the waterplane this morningthat sort of faint, thin funk that so readily invades one on the verge of any new experience; when one tries one's first dive, for example, or pushes off for the first time down an ice run.

But at the same time there was a really painful undertow of shame at telling what I felt was indeed a sacred secret.

The prevalence of an unmitigated undertow renders it quite exhilarating for old ladies and invalids.