take to one's heels

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU):

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Verb

take to one's heels

1. (idiomatic) To leave, especially to flee or run away.
   • 1839, Charles Dickens, chapter 10, in Oliver Twist:

     [T]hen, confused and frightened, he took to his heels; and, not knowing what he did, made off as fast as he could lay his feet to the ground.

   • 1908, Robert Louis Stevenson, chapter 26, in In the South Seas:

     Of a sudden, however, a man broke from their company, took to his heels, and fled into the church.

   • 1955 July 4, "Art: Patriot Painter," Time:

     After returning the fire three times, Peale's men saw the enemy formed near the college take to their heels.

   • 2010, Dr Oliver Akamnonu, Arranged Marriage and the Vanishing Roots‎^[1], →ISBN, page 81:

     Often tax defaulters would take to their heels on sighting the tax collectors.

Synonyms

• make tracks

Translations

to flee or run away

• Bulgarian: плюя си на петите (pljuja si na petite)
• Czech: vzít nohy na ramena (cs)
• Finnish: ottaa hatkat (fi)
• French: prendre ses jambes à son cou (fr)
• Icelandic: taka til fótanna, taka á rás
• Polish: wziąć nogi za pas (pl)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Romanian: a-și lua picioarele la spinare, a o lua la sănătoasa
• Russian: навостри́ть лы́жи pf (navostrítʹ lýži) (lit: sharpen ones skis), взять но́ги в ру́ки pf (vzjatʹ nógi v rúki) (lit: teake one's legs into one's hands)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: podbrusiti pete

• Spanish: apretar los talones, salir en carrera, poner pies en polvorosa
• Yiddish: מאַכן פּליטה (makhn pleyte), נעמען די פֿיס אויף די פּלייצעס (nemen di fis oyf di pleytses)

See also

• take to the hills