get back on one's feet
Meaning: To recover after an illness or a setback.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “It took him a year to get back on his feet after the restaurant closed.”
Category: Body & Senses
Origin: Standing upright is an old image of health and independence; being back on one's feet after illness or misfortune is in use from at least the 19th century.
Equivalents in other languages
- French: Reprendre du poil de la bête — literally: To take back some hair of the beast
- German: auf dem Damm — literally: on the dam
More idioms — Body & Senses
- not sleep a wink — To not sleep at all.
- welcome with open arms — To greet or accept someone with great warmth and enthusiasm.
- count on the fingers of one hand — To be very few in number, five or fewer.
- give someone an earful — To scold someone at length, or tell them angrily what one thinks.
- one's eyes pop out of one's head — To be astonished, often at something striking or desirable.
- turn one's stomach — To make someone feel sick, physically or with disgust.
More English idioms
- throw the baby out with the bathwater — To discard something valuable while getting rid of what is unwanted.
- the pot calling the kettle black — Said when someone criticizes another person for a fault they have themselves.
- keep one's cards close to one's chest — To keep one's plans or intentions secret.
- work oneself into a lather — To become very agitated, anxious or angry.
- be all the rage — To be extremely fashionable or popular for a time.
- avoid like the plague — To stay as far away as possible from someone or something.
From our proverbs
- The mob has many heads, but no brains. — Crowds act impulsively without rational deliberation, their collective energy amplifying…
- Modesty is the handmaid of virtue. — Humble self-awareness prevents pride from corrupting your moral character and actions.
- Money is more easily made than made use of. — Earning wealth requires less wisdom than spending it prudently without self-destruction.