show (someone) a clean pair of heels

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show (someone) a clean pair of heels

To run or move away from someone at great speed. He showed the mugger a clean pair of heels, skittering down a side alley and escaping out of sight. The runner showed her competitors a clean pair of heels as soon as the race began, and she maintained a comfortable lead throughout.

show (someone) a clean pair of heels

BRITISH

If you show someone a clean pair of heels or show a clean pair of heels in a race or a competitive situation, you win easily. John and Alison Cheetham showed a clean pair of heels in both of the races on Saturday. The Cairns junior showed them a clean pair of heels again at ANZ Stadium yesterday. Nokia has shown its rivals a clean pair of heels.

show someone or something a clean pair of heels

1 run away from someone or something as fast as possible. 2 demonstrate clear superiority to someone or something.

2 2002 Tom's Hardware Guide How fast does a PC fitted with the most powerful hardware have to be in order to show a clean pair of heels to the world's best PC systems?

See also: clean, heel, of, pair, show, someone, something

show (somebody) a clean pair of ˈheels

(informal)
1 run away: They ran after her, but she showed them a clean pair of heels.
2 get ahead of somebody in a competition: As makers of quality software, they’ve shown the rest of the industry a clean pair of heels.