IdiomBody & Senses
Russian
RussianДелать ноги (Delat' nogi)
Meaning: To run away quickly.
Literally: To make legs
Example: “Увидев сторожа, мальчишки сделали ноги.” — When they saw the watchman, the boys took to their heels.
English equivalent: To take to one's heels
Equivalents in other languages
French: Prendre ses jambes à son cou Literally: To take one's legs around one's neck
Hindi: नौ दो ग्यारह होना (nau do gyaarah hona) Literally: To become nine, two, eleven
Ukrainian: Дати драла (Daty drala) Literally: To give a bolt
Italian: battere i tacchi Literally: To beat one's heels
English: beat a hasty retreat- French: Prendre la tangente Literally: To take the tangent
- English: take to one's heels
Origin: "To make legs" is to put one's legs to work and run off. The phrase is late 20th-century slang, recorded in Belyanin and Butenko's dictionary of modern colloquial phrases (1993) with its synonym рвать когти (to tear one's claws). Its origin is not documented, and it has no particular story behind it.
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