knee (redirected from bent the knee)

*knee-deep in something 

1. Fig. heavily involved in something. (*Typically: be ~; get ~.) Right now, we are knee-deep in trouble.

2. Fig. having plenty of something. (*Typically: be ~; Stand ~.) We are knee-deep in orders and loving it.

*knee-high by the 4th of July

Fig. grown as tall as it should. (Corn seedlings are proverbially supposed to be as high as someone's knee by July 4th.) (*Typically: be ~; become ~; grow ~.) What with this drought, I don't think the crop will be knee-high by the 4th of July. It's gonna be a good year. Knee-high by the 4th of July.

*knee-high to a jackrabbit and *knee-high to a grasshopper

Rur. very small or short. (Usually used to describe children. *Typically: be ~; since someone was ~.) I've known you since you were knee-high to a jackrabbit. My, how you've grown! The last time I saw you, you were knee-high to a grasshopper!

*up to one's knees

Fig. deep in something, such as paperwork or water. (The idea is that it is hard to move or make progress. *Typically: be ~; get ~.) We're up to our knees with orders and getting more all the time. The orders are up to our knees.

See also: up

fall on one's knees and fall to one's knees

to kneel down, usually in respect. The people fell on their knees and prayed in gratitude for their salvation from the flood. They fell to their knees in awe.

See also: fall

go down on one's knees

to kneel down. The people went down on their knees and prayed. Larry went down on his knees and asked for forgiveness.

knee-jerk reaction

Fig. an automatic or reflex reaction; an immediate reaction made without examining causes or facts. With one of his typical knee-jerk reactions, he said no immediately, citing some moral argument that no one understood.

See also: reaction

knock one's knees together

Fig. [for one's knees] to shake together from fright. I stood there freezing for ten minutes, knocking my knees together in the cold. It takes a lot of energy to knock your knees together.

See also: knock, together

on bended knee

kneeling, as in supplication. (The verb form is obsolescent and occurs now only in this phrase.) Do you expect me to come to you on bended knee and ask you for forgiveness? The suitors came on bended knee and begged the attention of the princess.

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at your mother's knee

if you learned to do something at your mother's knee, you learned it when you were a young child I learned to sew at my mother's knee.

be knee-deep in something

to have too much of something I'm knee-deep in work at the moment, so I'm not stopping for lunch.

be knee-high to a grasshopper  (humorous)

to be very young

Usage notes: A grasshopper is an extremely small insect.

The last time I came here I was knee-high to a grasshopper.

See also: grasshopper

be the bee's knees  (British & Australian informal)

to be extremely good Have you tried this double chocolate-chip ice cream? It's the bee's knees, it really is.

bring somebody/something to their knees

to destroy or defeat someone or something Sanctions were imposed in an attempt to bring the country to its knees. The strikes brought the economy to its knees.

See also: bring

on bended knee/knees  (humorous)

if you ask for something on bended knee, you ask very politely or with a lot of emotion for something that you want very much I had to go down on bended knee and beg my Dad to let me have the party. He begged me on bended knee to marry him.

put somebody over your knee  (old-fashioned)

to punish a child by hitting them on the bottom Her father threatened to put her over his knee if she missed school again.

See also: put

weak at the knees

if someone goes weak at the knees, they feel as if they might fall down because they have a sudden strong emotion about something or someone The very thought of jumping out of an aircraft with a parachute made him go weak at the knees. He was so gorgeous, I felt weak at the knees every time he spoke to me.

See also: weak

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at somebody's knee

from someone older when you were young His father was a programmer in the early days of computers, and Briggs learned all about them at his dad's knee.

Etymology: based on the idea of a child standing next to or being the height of someone's knee

bring you/something to your/its knees

to defeat or stop someone or something Severe oil shortages could bring our economy to its knees. They played a great game and brought our local basketball champs to their knees.

See also: bring

on your/its knees

not operating well Many retail stores are already on their knees and some might have to close.

on bended knee

like a servant The governors have to ask on bended knee for more money from Washington to pay for increased security.