50 idioms about legs, feet, and toes
TRANSCRIPT
-
7/27/2019 50 Idioms About Legs, Feet, And Toes
1/2
7.8.13. 50 Idioms About Legs, Feet, and Toes
www.dailywritingtips.com/50-idioms-about-legs-feet-and-toes/ 1/2
50 Idioms About Legs, Feet, and Toesby Mark Nichol
Here is a list of expressions that refer to ones legs
or feet or their parts, and the meaning of each
idiom.
1. Ones Achilles heel is ones weakness.
2. To be bound hand and foot is to be literally orfiguratively tied up.
3. To bring one to heel is to subdue someone.
4. To go somewhere by or on foot is to walk or hike
there.
5. To cool ones heels is to pause to calm down or
think before doing something rash.
6. To dig in ones heels is to be obstinate.
7. One who doesnt have a leg to stand on is unsupported by evidence or corroboration.
8. To drag ones feet is to delay.9. To find ones feet is to become accustomed or oriented.
10. To be fleet of foot is to be fast.
11. To foot the bill is to accept financial responsibility.
12. To get down on your knees means to figuratively submit or ask for forgiveness.
13.14. To get ones feet wet is to have a modest or mild introductory experience; to put ones
toe in the water is to do so even more hesitantly.
15.16. To get or start off on the right foot is to make a good first impression or to act
productively soon after beginning an endeavor, and to get or start off on the wrong foot is to
leave a poor first impression or act counterproductively soon after beginning an endeavor.
17. To get ones sea legs to become accustomed to the pitch and roll of a marine vessel or, by
extension, to become used to a situation.
18. To have a foot in the door is to have an advantage that will enable one to obtain a desired
result.
19. To have foot-in-mouth disease is to habitually make awkward or inappropriate comments.
20. To have ones feet in both camps is to be opportunistically sympathetic to two opposing
viewpoints.
21. To have feet of clay is to have a hidden flaw or weakness (an allusion to the fragility of clay).
22. To have itchy feet is to be restless.
23. To have one foot in the grave is to be in poor health or near death.
24. To have two left feet is to feel clumsy.
25. To have the world at ones feet is to be afforded an opportunity for rewarding experiences.
26. Head to toe means entirely or thoroughly.
27. To keep ones feet on the ground is to remain realistic and responsible.
28. To keep someone on ones toes is to do or say one or more things that cause the person to
remain alert or attentive.
29. Knee-high to a grasshopper is a colorfully exaggerated expression referring to being a small
child.
30. To land on ones feet is to recover from a setback.31. My foot is an idiom for expressing skepticism.
32. One who is on his or her last legs is in a state of exhaustion or near the point of giving up.
33. To pull someones leg is to deceive them for humorous effect.
34. To pull the rug from under ones feet is to be deprived of support or disoriented by a sudden
-
7/27/2019 50 Idioms About Legs, Feet, And Toes
2/2
7.8.13. 50 Idioms About Legs, Feet, and Toes
www.dailywritingtips.com/50-idioms-about-legs-feet-and-toes/ 2/2
action; to have the rug pulled under ones feet is to be the victim of such an action. Have the
ground cut out from under ones feet has the same meaning.
35. To put ones best foot forward is to make a good impression.
36. To put one foot in front of the other is to begin a laborious undertaking.
37. To put ones foot in it is to do or say something that gets one into an unfortunate situation,
suggestive of stepping into an unpleasant substance.
38. To put ones foot in ones mouth is to say something awkward or inappropriate.
39. To put ones feet up is to relax.40. To put ones foot down is to be insistent.
41. To put ones foot to the floor is to suddenly hurry or increase ones speed.
42. To set foot somewhere is to go into that place.
43. To shoot oneself in the foot is to do or say something disadvantageous to ones own
interests.
44. To stand on ones own two feet is to act or live independently.
45. To step, or tread, on someones toes is to impinge on that persons authority or responsibility
or interfere with the persons actions.
46. The shoe is on the other foot means that a situation has been reversed so that one whohad been responsible for anothers misfortune is now suffering the same misfortune.
47. To think on ones feet is to solve a problem reflexively or spontaneously.
48. To toe the line is to remain within the bounds of proper behavior or conduct.
49. To wait for the other shoe to drop is to be in expectation of receiving further developments or
news.
50. To wait on someone hand and foot is to serve that person continuously.