IdiomBody & Senses
English
Englishbend over backwards
Meaning: To make a great effort to help or please someone.
Example: “The hotel staff bent over backwards to find us a room.”
Origin: Bending backwards is hard and uncomfortable, like the effort made. The phrase is common from the early 20th century.
Equivalents in other languages
Korean: 발 벗고 나서다 (bal beotgo naseoda) Literally: To step forward with bare feet
Romanian: A se face luntre și punte Literally: To make oneself boat and bridge
More English idioms
- be afraid of one's own shadow To be very timid and easily frightened.
- a blessing in disguise Something that seems bad at first but turns out well.
- teach your grandmother to suck eggs To give advice to someone who knows far more than you.
- big deal Said sarcastically to mean something is not important at all.
- make a hash of something To do something very badly.
- play dumb To pretend not to know or understand something.
Explore another collection: Proverbs
Short sayings of timeless wisdom from more than 50 cultures, each with its meaning and origin.
- Self love's a mote in every man's eye. Vanity blinds us to our own faults while we scrutinize others' imperfections.
- Catch not at the shadow and lose the substance. Pursuing trivial distractions causes you to forfeit what truly matters and holds real val…
- It's ill shaving against the wool. Forcing work against natural resistance creates unnecessary difficulty and poor results.
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