(as) tough as (old) (shoe) leather

1. Having great physical strength, health, or resilience. Marty has played in 500 straight games without an injury. The guy's as tough as old shoe leather. Bert is as tough as leather, so he'll have no trouble helping you move all this furniture! A: "Can you believe Grandma is still rowing at 87?" B: "I know, she's tough as old leather."

2. Having a very tough, leathery texture or consistency (as of meat). This steak is as tough as leather—I can barely even cut through it with a knife! That chicken's going to end up tough as old shoe leather if you leave it in the oven any longer. I really hope Aunt Ethel isn't making the Thanksgiving turkey this year—last time, it was tough as old leather.

3. Resisting emotional reactions or displays. Our aunt is as tough as old leather, so we asked her to give the eulogy, knowing that she's the only one who could do it without crying. I can't believe Uncle Stu cried at that movie. I've always known him to be tough as shoe leather! Haven't we moved past the stereotype that men have to be tough as old shoe leather? Personally, I find emotional vulnerability very attractive.

4. Displaying determination or inflexibility. You'll never get Rich to change his opinion—he's as tough as old shoe leather when it comes to politics. Without fail, my toddler becomes tough as shoe leather any time he doesn't get what he wants. My days are full of tantrums anymore. Larry is tough as old leather once he sets his sights on something, so good luck getting him to change course now.

(as) tough as leather

Having great strength of body, mind, or will; not susceptible to sickness or injury. My grandmother is tough as leather—she lived through the Great Depression and raised four kids pretty much all on her own! That guy's tough as leather; 400 consecutive games, and not even a sprained ankle. A: "Can you believe Aunt Anita is still rowing at 87?" B: "I know, she's tough as leather."

as ever trod shoe-leather

As ever walked the earth; as ever lived. You're as talented a baseball player as ever trod shoe-leather! Einstein is considered as brilliant a physicist as ever trod shoe-leather. She may be as fine an author as ever trod shoe-leather, yet she remains incredibly humble.

be (as) tough as shoe leather

1. To be very physically strong and resilient. Marty has played in 500 straight games without so much as a sprained ankle—he's as tough as shoe leather. My grandfather did a lot of physical labor around the family farm, so he was tough as shoe leather. Bert is as tough as shoe leather, so he'll have no trouble helping you move all this furniture!

2. To have a tough, leathery texture. Said especially of meat. This meat is as tough as shoe leather—I can't even cut it! No, the steak won't be tough as shoe leather this time, I cooked it completely differently. How does she manage to dry out the turkey every year? Once again, it's as tough as shoe leather!

go hell for leather

To move, act, or do something very quickly or as quickly as possible. When her ex-boyfriend walked into the party, Patty went hell for leather to get out of there. The political candidates have been going hell for leather trying to get last-minute support from voters ahead of Friday's election. Once we set off the building's security alarm, we went hell for leather to get out before the cops showed up.

go hell-bent for leather

To move, act, or do something very quickly or as quickly as possible. When her ex-boyfriend walked into the party, Patty went hell-bent for leather to get out of there. The political candidates have been going hell-bent for leather trying to get last-minute support from voters ahead of Friday's election. Once we set off the building's security alarm, we went hell-bent for leather to get out before the cops showed up.

hell for leather

Very quickly or as quickly as possible. When her ex-boyfriend walked into the party, Patty went hell for leather to get out of there. The political candidates have been going hell for leather trying to get last-minute support from voters ahead of Friday's election. Once we set off the building's security alarm, we went hell for leather to get out before the cops showed up.

See also: for, hell, leather

hell-bent for leather

Very quickly or as quickly as possible. The "leather" in the phrase is thought to refer to a horse's saddle or whip. When her ex-boyfriend walked into the party, Patty went hell-bent for leather to get out of there. I always find myself yelling at other drivers when I'm hell-bent for leather to get to work. She's still hell-bent for leather to come here for Thanksgiving, so we better clean the guest room.

See also: for, leather

leather or feather

Red meat (typically beef or mutton) or poultry (typically chicken). We've got both lamb and chicken curries available, so which would you like—leather or feather? Our restaurant's aim isn't to convince people to stop eating meat, but simply to give them a delicious alternative to leather or feather.

leather-lunged

(used before a noun) Having an extremely or inordinately loud or strong voice, as of someone with very robust lungs. Despite her petite frame, the leather-lunged lead singer was able to shake the audience with her soulful outpourings.

leatherworking

The process of crafting products out of leather. That shop specializes in leatherworking, so I'm sure you'll find a new purse there that's to your liking.

ride hell for leather

To ride (something, especially a horse) as fast as possible. The notorious thief leapt onto his horse with the stolen diamonds and rode hell for leather toward the hills. Riding hell for leather like that on your motorcycle is going to get you killed one of these days.

ride hell-bent for leather

To ride (something, especially a horse) as fast as possible. The notorious thief leapt onto his horse with the stolen diamonds and rode hell-bent for leather toward the hills. Riding hell-bent for leather like that on your motorcycle is going to get you killed one of these days.

save shoe leather

old-fashioned To reduce the wear and tear on someone's shoes, especially by avoiding walking. Instead of focusing on door-to-door sales, why don't you try advertising more through email and social media? It would certainly save shoe leather! When we were kids, we only had enough money for one pair of shoes a year, so in the summer we walked everywhere barefoot to save shoe leather.

shoe-leather campaign

A series of coordinated on-foot, door-to-door efforts to increase a political candidate's support among voters ahead of an election. We won because we ran an old-fashioned shoe-leather campaign. By talking to voters across the county and getting to know them personally, we have been able to earn their trust and their vote. Severe weather conditions have made shoe-leather campaigns more difficult in this part of the country, so both parties have pivoted to increased email and text messaging efforts.

shoe-leather journalism

The collecting, writing, and reporting of news stories characterized by traveling to different places and meeting with different people in order to investigate and obtain all relevant facts. Sarah always spends weeks on her stories, making sure no stone is left unturned. It's real old-school, shoe-leather journalism. Look, kid, I know you'd rather be doing some shoe-leather journalism, but our business model is all about churning out as many stories as possible, as quickly as possible.

shoe-leather journalist

A person who investigates and writes news stories by traveling to different places and meeting with different people in order to investigate and obtain all relevant facts. She has always been an old-school shoe-leather journalist, spending weeks on her stories to make sure no stone is left unturned. Look, kid, I know you want to be some shoe-leather journalist, but our business model is all about churning out as many stories as possible, as quickly as possible.

shoe-leather reporter

A person who investigates and writes news stories by traveling to different places and meeting with different people in order to investigate and obtain all relevant facts. She has always been an old-school shoe-leather reporter, spending weeks on her stories to make sure no stone is left unturned. Look, kid, I know you want to be some shoe-leather reporter, but our business model is all about churning out as many stories as possible, as quickly as possible.

shoe-leather reporting

The collecting, writing, and reporting of news stories characterized by traveling to different places and meeting with different people in order to investigate and obtain all relevant facts. Sarah always spends weeks on her stories, making sure no stone is left unturned. It's real old-school, shoe-leather reporting. Look, kid, I know you'd rather be doing some shoe-leather reporting, but our business model is all about churning out as many stories as possible, as quickly as possible.

slap leather

1. verbTo draw a firearm into one's hand, as from a holster in preparation for a gunfight. Get ready to slap leather, stranger—you've been talkin' fighting words all day, and I've had enough!

2. verb In line dancing, to slap the side of one's leather boot, as after taking a grapevine step. Most commonly a feature of line dances. OK, five, six, seven eight! Grapevine to the left, then slap leather!

3. noun By extension, a line dance that incorporates the slapping of one's leather boot at various points. In this usage, the phrase is sometimes capitalized or written as "Slappin' Leather." I thought we were going to learn ballroom dancing, so we must be in the wrong room if they're teaching us how to do the Slap Leather!

hell-bent for leather

Inf. moving or behaving recklessly; riding a horse fast and recklessly. They took off after the horse thief, riding hell-bent for leather. Here comes the boss. She's not just angry; she's hell-bent for leather.

See also: for, leather

*tough as an old boot

and *tough as old (shoe) leather

1. [of meat] very tough. (*Also: as ~.) This meat is tough as an old boot. Bob couldn't eat the steak. It was as tough as an old boot.

2. [of someone] very strong willed. (*Also: as ~.) When Brian was lost in the mountains, his friends did not fear for him; they knew he was tough as leather. My English teacher was as tough as an old boot.

3. [of someone] not easily moved by feelings such as pity. (*Also: as ~.) She doesn't care. She's as tough as old shoe leather. He was born tough as an old boot and has only grown more rigid.

hell-bent for leather

Moving recklessly fast, as in Out the door she went, hell-bent for leather. The use of hell-bent in the sense of "recklessly determined" dates from the first half of the 1800s. Leather alludes to a horse's saddle and to riding on horseback; this colloquial expression may be an American version of the earlier British army jargon hell for leather, first recorded in 1889.

See also: for, leather

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

hell for leather

mainly BRITISH

1. If you go hell for leather, you move very quickly, and often recklessly. They ran hell for leather to catch up. We bought a map, filled up and drove hell for leather to Lisbon. Note: You can also use hell-for-leather before a noun. There was a hell-for-leather dash to get the train.

2. If you do something hell for leather, you do it very quickly and energetically. Once I decide to write a play, I go for it hell for leather. Note: This expression may originally have related to horse riding. `Leather' would refer to a saddle.

See also: for, hell, leather

tough as leather

1. If something is as tough as leather, it is very tough. Her hands were tough as leather.

2. If someone is tough as leather, they have a strong character or body and do not get upset or hurt easily. He's shown he's tough as leather.

hell for leather

as fast as possible.

This phrase dates from the late 19th century, and originally referred to riding a horse at reckless speed.

See also: for, hell, leather

hell for ˈleather

(old-fashioned, British English, informal) with the greatest possible speed, energy, etc: I saw a man going hell for leather down the street, with two policemen running after him.This is from horse riding. A rider can hit a horse with a strip of leather to make it run faster.

See also: for, hell, leather

leather or feather

n. a choice of beef or chicken for a meal on an airplane. (Contrived.) What do the victims get today? Oh, yes, it’s leather or feather.

ride hell (bent) for leather, to

To move as fast as possible. Hell in this expression dates from the nineteenth century and simply implies very fast (as in “to go like hell”); the origin of leather, however, is no longer known. The most common citation is Rudyard Kipling’s poem “Shillin’ a Day” (1892): “When we rode Hell-for-leather, Both squadrons together.” The variant, hellbent, means stubbornly determined (or “bent on going to hell”) as well as very fast, and is an early nineteenth-century Americanism. Sue MacVeigh used it in her 1940 murder mystery, Streamlined Murder: “It was going hell-bent for election.”

hell-bent for leather

Moving rapidly and with determination. “Hell” in this case strengthens the word “bent,” which means a direct route (although it sounds as though it should mean the opposite). “Leather” refers either to a saddle or to a whip used to urge a horse to move faster, or perhaps items. “Hell for leather” meaning “all deliberate haste” was a popular phrase in itself. Among a number of variants is “hell-bent for election,” said to have originated with the 1840 Maine gubernatorial race and appearing in an 1899 Stephen Crane story: “One puncher racin' his cow-pony hell-bent-for-election down Main Street.” Others are “hell-bent for breakfast,” “for Sunday,” and “for Georgia.”

See also: for, leather

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