take to one's heels
Meaning: To run away.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “The cat took to its heels when the vacuum started.”
Category: Body & Senses
Origin: A runner shows the soles of their heels to whoever is behind. The phrase is recorded in English from the 16th century.
Other ways to say this
- 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
- Russian: Делать ноги (Delat' nogi) — literally: To make legs
- 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
More idioms — Body & Senses
- drag one's feet — To delay deliberately.
- be tone-deaf — To be unable to tell musical notes apart; also, to have no sense of how others feel.
- throw dust in someone's eyes — To mislead someone by distracting them.
- up to one's ears in debt — Deeply in debt.
- hand on heart — Said when swearing that something is completely true.
- you'll live — Said to someone making a fuss over a small injury or setback.
More English idioms
- where the sun doesn't shine — Somewhere hidden; also a rude way of naming the body.
- without a fight — With no resistance at all.
- pave the way — To prepare the ground so that something can happen later.
- catch someone off guard — To surprise someone who is not prepared.
- all at once — Suddenly, with no warning.
- do more harm than good — To make matters worse while trying to help.
From our proverbs
- He is in clover. — Prosperity and contentment come from finding oneself in favorable, comfortable circumstan…
- Two's company and three's none. — A third person disrupts the intimate dynamic and comfort of a pair.
- A generous confession disarms slander. — Openly admitting faults before others exploit them removes ammunition from malicious goss…