The Humble Foot

The Humble Foot The Humble Foot The Humble Foot By Maeve Maddox For obvious reasons, the word for foot is one of the oldest in the language: O.E. fot, from P.Gmc. *fot (cf. O.N. fotr, Du. voet, Ger. Fuß, Goth. fotus foot), from PIE *pod-/*ped- (cf. Avestan pad-; Skt. pat, acc. padam foot; Gk. pos, Attic pous, gen. podos; L. pes, gen. pedis foot; Lith. padas sole, peda footstep). Like other body parts, foot has found its way into numerous idiomatic expressions. Here are just a few. foot the bill to pay for something, usually for something one would rather not pay for oneself: Ill go to the convention if the company will foot the bill. put your foot in your mouth to say something one regrets immediately (or should!): You put your foot in your mouth with that remark about her hat. have one foot in the grave about to die: When you had the flu, you looked as if you had one foot in the grave. to have itchy feet to have a frequent desire to travel: Hes not a good marriage prospect; he has itchy feet. to get cold feet to feel sudden misgivings about doing something one had planned to do: Its the morning of the wedding and the bride has cold feet. to get off on the wrong footto begin an enterprise by doing something inappropriate: Susie got off on the wrong foot with her old-fashioned boss when she told him she didnt make coffee. to get off on the right foot to start out doing everything right: The new fireman got off on the right foot when he saved that baby. to put ones best foot forward to present oneself at ones best: She bought a new dress and had her hair done because she wanted to put her best foot forward for the job interview. to land on your feet to come through a difficult situation without harm: Dont worry about Jack in this storm. He always lands on his feet. to drag your feet to be reluctant: Stop dragging your feet and mow the grass! to have your feet on the ground to have a practical outlook: His decision to put off the move until hes sure he has the job shows he has his feet on the ground. not to put a foot wrong to do everything according to rule and expectation: Mr. Perfect there never puts a foot wrong with the boss. to have feet that hardly touch the ground to move quickly: On the day of the church picnic, her feet hardly touched the ground. to put ones feet up to relax: Now that youve finished the project, you can put your feet up for awhile. to put ones foot down to take a firm stand: When little Jimmy kicked the dog, his father finally put his foot down. My foot! expression of disbelief: Abner Potts made a perfect score on the SAT? My foot! Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:What is the Difference Between "These" and "Those"?How to Punctuate Descriptions of Colors"To Tide You Over"