get under someone's feet
Meaning: To be in the way while someone is trying to work.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “The puppy got under our feet all through the move.”
Category: Body & Senses
Origin: Small children and pets crowd around a person's legs while they are busy. The British phrase is common from the 19th century.
Equivalents in other languages
- German: in die Quere kommen — literally: to come into the cross
More idioms — Body & Senses
- keep one's feet on the ground — To stay realistic and unaffected by success.
- become second nature — To become so familiar that one does it without thinking.
- start off on the wrong foot — To begin something badly.
- take one's breath away — To astonish someone with beauty or surprise.
- go away empty-handed — To get nothing at all.
- work one's fingers to the bone — To work extremely hard.
More English idioms
- kick up a fuss — To complain loudly and cause a commotion.
- cry at the drop of a hat — To burst into tears very easily.
- been there, done that — Said of an experience one already knows well, often with a shrug.
- think outside the box — To find an unconventional solution.
- not get off the ground — To fail to make any progress at all.
- green with envy — Extremely jealous.