heel (redirected from at the heels)

an Achilles' heel

a small fault in a person or system which might cause them to fail. As a team they're strong on attack but they have a weak defence that might prove to be their Achilles' heel.

at someone's heels

1. if you are at someone's heels, you are following very close behind them. Dr Grange walked through the ward with a group of student doctors at his heels.

2. if you are at the heels of someone that you are competing with, you are very close to defeating them. With so many promising young contenders at his heels, Roper can't afford to make any mistakes. There are many younger women snapping at her heels, eager to replace her as company director.

be head over heels (in love)

to be in love with someone very much, especially at the beginning of a relationship. It's obvious that they're head over heels in love with each other.

See also: head, over

bring/call someone to heel

to force someone to obey you. He decided that threatening to sue the publishers was the easiest way of bringing them to heel.

See also: bring, call

come to heel

to stop behaving in a way that annoys someone in authority and to start obeying their orders. A few government rebels refused to come to heel and had to be expelled from the party.

See also: come

cool your heels

if someone leaves you to cool your heels, they force you to wait, often until you become calmer. The youths were left to cool their heels overnight in a police cell.

See also: cool

dig your heels in

to refuse to do what other people are trying to persuade you to do, especially to refuse to change your opinions or plans. We suggested it would be quicker to fly, but she dug her heels in and insisted on taking the train.

See also: dig

down-at-heel (British, American & Australian, American)

badly dressed or in a bad condition because of a lack of money. When I first met her she was down-at-heel but still respectable. The play was set in a down-at-heel hotel in post-war Germany.

drag your feet/heels

to deal with something slowly because you do not really want to do it. He was asked why the government had dragged its feet on the question of a single European currency. (often + on) We don't want to look as if we're dragging our heels over promoting women to senior positions. (often + over)

See also: drag, feet

fall head over heels (in love)

be head over heels (in love) - to be in love with someone very much, especially at the beginning of a relationship. As soon as we met we fell head over heels in love. I fell head over heels in love with Simon on our first date.

See also: fall, head, over

hard/hot on someone's heels

1. if you are hard on someone's heels, you are following very close behind them, especially because you are trying to catch them. She ran down the steps with a group of journalists hard on her heels.

2. if you are hard on the heels of someone that you are competing with, you are very close to defeating them. They know we're hard on their heels and they've got to win their next three games to retain the championship.

See also: hard, hot

hard/hot on the heels of something

if something comes hard on the heels of something else, it happens very soon after it. A film contract came hard on the heels of the success of their first album.

See also: hard, hot

kick your heels (British)

to be forced to wait for a period of time. I'm fed up kicking my heels at home while all my friends are out enjoying themselves. (usually in continuous tenses)

See also: kick

kick up your heels (American & Australian)

to do things that you enjoy. After the exams, we kicked up our heels and had a really good party.

See also: kick

show someone a clean pair of heels (British)

to go faster than someone else in a race. Butler showed them all a clean pair of heels as he raced for the finishing line.

See also: clean, pair, show

take to your heels

to run away quickly. As soon as they saw the soldiers coming, they took to their heels.

See also: take

under someone's heel (formal)

if you are under someone's heel, they have complete control over you. For nine years this isolated community lived under the heel of China.

well-heeled

rich. You need to be well-heeled to be able to afford to shop there.

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bring someone to heel

to force someone to obey you. Western politicians opposed the president's effort to bring the Supreme Court to heel.

Etymology: based on the literal meaning of bring to heel (= to order a dog to walk close behind you)

See also: bring

cool your heels

to wait or to be kept waiting. Fans of the band were forced to cool their heels outside the theater for 90 minutes.

See also: cool

dig in your heels

to refuse to change what you believe is right or what you want to happen. Be firm on important issues, but do not dig in your heels at every opportunity.

See also: dig

drag your/its heels

to do something slowly because you do not want to do it. When they told us they wanted to put computers in our classrooms, we dragged our heels a little bit.

See also: drag

head over heels (in love)

to be in love with someone very much. It's obvious that they're head over heels in love with each other.

Usage notes: often used with fall to describe the beginning of a relationship: They met at a nightclub and instantly fell head over heels for one another.

See also: head, over

hot on your heels

1. following directly behind someone. She headed inside the house with her brother hot on her heels.

2. very near to someone in rank. They know we're hard on their heels and that they've got to win their next three games to make the playoffs.

See also: hot

kick up your heels

to do things that you enjoy. In spring people dash outdoors to kick up their heels and join in their favorite sports.

See also: kick

(hard) on the heels of something

close behind or soon after something. The fighting came on the heels of even deadlier combat in a village ten miles to the north.

Usage notes: usually used with the verbs come or follow and also used in the forms close on the heels of something or hot on the heels of something: The manager's resignation followed close on the heels of the hiring of a new chairman.

turn on your heel

to leave quickly and suddenly. She turned on her heel and went back to her room.

Etymology: based on the idea that you could quickly change the direction in which you are moving by literally turning on your heel

See also: turn