verb. (common).—1. To acknowledge payment; e.g., TO FOOT A BILL; cf., FOOT-UP.
1848. DURIVAGE, Stray Subjects, p. 183. If our plan succeeded, the landlord was to FOOT the bill, and ‘stand treat.’
2. (football and colloquial).—To kick; to HOOF (q.v.). Cf., Merchant of Venue, i. 3. ‘You, that did void your rheum upon my beard, And FOOT me, as you spurn a stranger cur.’
1852. BRISTED, The Upper Ten Thousand, pp. 223–4. As both teams were FOOTING their very best, Masters’ only chance of getting by was in case one of the tandem nags should happen to break, a chance which he kept ready to take advantage of.
TO FOOT IT, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To walk. For synonyms, see PAD THE HOOF.
1892. J. M. PRICE, From the Arctic Ocean to the Yellow Sea, p. 139. The discomfort of having to ‘FOOT IT.’
TO FOOT-UP, verb. phr. (American colloquial).—To sum up the total (of a bill); to TOT UP (q.v.). Hence, to pay; to discharge one’s obligations; to RECKON UP (q.v.); to summarize both merits and defects, and strike a balance. FOOTING-UP = the reckoning, the sum total. Fr., gomberger.
1865. G. A. SALA, A Trip to Barbary. The Arab abhors statistics. He won’t be tabulated if he could help it, and were you to go to Algeria, Doctor Colenso, you would find a deeply rooted objection among the people to the reckoning, or FOOTING-UP, as the Americans call it, of anything animate or inanimate.
1871. DE VERE, Americanisms, p. 310. TO FOOT A BILL, by paying the amount at the bottom of the account, is a phrase equally well known abroad and with us.
1882. J. D. MCCABE, New York by Sunlight and Gaslight, xxi., 333. The transactions of ‘The Street’ FOOT UP an almost fabulous sum daily.
1884. G. A. S[ALA], in Illustrated London News, 29 March, p. 294, col. 3. They FOOT UP (American English) to an almost alarming amount in thousands of dollars.
TO PUT ONE’S BEST FOOT (or LEG) FOREMOST, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To use all possible despatch; to exert oneself to the utmost.
1596. SHAKESPEARE, King John, iv. 2. Nay, but make haste; the BETTER FOOT BEFORE.
TO PUT ONE’S FOOT INTO ANYTHING, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To make a mess of it; to get into a scrape. THE BISHOP (i.e., the Devil) HAS PUT HIS FOOT IN IT (old English proverb) is said of burned porridge or over-roasted meat.—GROSE. Fr., faire une gaffe.
1823. BADCOCK (‘Jon Bee’), Dictionary of the Turf, etc., s.v.
1888. Daily Telegraph, 7 May. Faire une gaffe, in modern Parisian slang, may be best rendered as to PUT YOUR FOOT IN IT.
TO HAVE ONE FOOT (or LEG) IN THE GRAVE, verb. phr. (common).—On one’s last legs; MEASURED FOR A FUNERAL SERMON. Also as adj.
1825. C. M. WESTMACOTT, The English Spy, i., pp. 199–200. With ONE LEG IN THE GRAVE he’ll laugh.
1890. Globe, 15 May, p. 5, col. 2. ONE-FOOT-IN-THE-GRAVE paralytic sort of people.
TO PULL FOOT, verb. phr. (American).—To make haste. Variants are TO TAKE ONE’S FOOT IN ONE’S HAND, and TO MAKE TRACKS; but for synonyms, see ABSQUATULATE and SKEDADDLE.
1825. NEAL, Brother Jonathan, Bk. I., ch. iv. How they PULLED FOOT when they seed us commin.
1836. M. SCOTT, Tom Cringle’s Log, ch. viii. ‘Why, PULL FOOT, captain,’ promptly replied Paul.
1843–4. HALIBURTON (‘Sam Slick’), Sam Slick in England. I look’d up; it was another shower, by gosh. I PULLS FOOT for dear life.
TO TAKE MR. FOOT’S HORSE, verb. phr. (old).—To walk; to GO BY SHANK’S MARE (q.v.). For synonyms, see PAD THE HOOF.
TO KNOW THE LENGTH OF ONE’S FOOT, verb. phr. (old).—To be well acquainted with one’s character.
1581. J. LYLY, Euphues, etc. But you shall not know the LENGTH OF MY FOOT, untill by your cunning you get commendation.
1614. Terence in English. He measures an other MAN’S FOOTE BY HIS OWNE LAST. Hee considers an other mans meaning by his owne intent.
