vote with one's feet, to
vote with one's feet
Fig. to express one's dissatisfaction with something by leaving, especially by walking away. I think that the play is a total flop. Most of the audience voted with its feet during the second act. I am prepared to vote with my feet if the meeting appears to be a waste of time.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
vote with one's feet
Indicate one's disapproval by walking out or emigrating, as in The service was so bad that we decided to vote with our feet, or Thousands of Hong Kong residents voted with their feet and left before the Chinese takeover . [Slang; mid-1900s]
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.
vote with (one's) feet
Informal To indicate a preference or an opinion by leaving or entering a particular locale: "If older cities are allowed to decay and contract, can citizens who vote with their feet ... hope to find better conditions anywhere else?" (Melinda Beck).
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
vote with one's feet, to
To register disapproval by leaving. This slangy Americanism dates from the mid-twentieth century and, one writer speculates, may originally have referred to refugees who emigrate because they disapprove of their country’s policies or way of life.
See also: vote
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer