Home › Idioms

battere i tacchi

Meaning: To run away or flee hastily.

Language: Italian

Literally: to beat one's heels

Category: Body & Senses

Origin: The image is of rapid heel-striking against the ground in flight, though the phrase more directly evokes the sound and motion of quick escape.

More idioms — Body & Senses

  • a viso aperto — Openly and frankly; without deception or concealment.
  • mettere le corna — To commit infidelity against a partner; to cuckold someone.
  • senza capo né coda — In a senseless or disjointed way; without coherence, order, or point.
  • unha e carne — Extremely close or inseparable; bound together in an intimate connection.
  • morde e assopra — A cycle of conflict and reconciliation; repeated fighting followed by making peace.
  • ombro a ombro — On equal terms, standing together as peers.

More Italian idioms

  • dove non batte il sole — In a place that is dark, hidden, or not respectable; a euphemism for somewhere very undes…
  • fuori del seminato — Off the point; irrelevant or beside the subject at hand.
  • senza colpo ferire — Without any struggle, opposition, or difficulty; achieved effortlessly.
  • essere di casa — To be accepted as a family member; to feel completely at home and comfortable somewhere.
  • cavare le castagne dal fuoco — To help someone out of a dangerous or difficult situation, often at one's own risk or eff…
  • preparare il terreno — To establish the conditions or foundations that will make something possible later.

← Back to Idioms

Loading the full interactive collection…