Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to walk on two legs

to walk on two legs

1 5.1
To say someone is the most outstanding person who has ever lived
  • idiom
translation icon : caminar sobre dos piernas

Examples

  • Was she evolving toward walking on two legs?

    Academic text (2010)

  • Jungers believes that Ardipithecus was capable of walking on two legs, but was better adapted to living in trees.

    Academic text (2010)

  • PHOTO (BLACK & WHITE): Ardi's apelike big toe could be used to grasp branches, but her rigid foot bones may mean she also walked on two legs.

    Academic text (2010)

  • It represents a behavioral shift; there's no doubt about it. The idea that hominins might have evolved smaller canine teeth at the same time they were developing the ability to walk on two legs has some important implications for Ardi's behavior, according to Lovejoy.

    Academic text (2010)

  • Humans have the unique ability to walk on two legs, setting them apart from many other species.

  • Many cultures celebrate the moment when a child first learns to walk on two legs as a significant milestone.

  • The evolutionary adaptation that allows us to walk on two legs has been crucial for our ability to explore diverse environments.

Synonyms

to hold up
vsto walk on two legs
89 3.7

To show someone as an example to praise or admire

is used to single out one person as uniquely remarkable not merely an example
to walk on water
vsto walk on two legs
3 8.4

To seem perfect and able to do anything

is praise for an exceptional human quality rather than a literal miracle
to pedestal
vsto walk on two legs
  • Informal
6.8

To admire someone too much and treat them as perfect

is praise that highlights one specific outstanding human quality

Surface Forms

walk on two legs infinitive
walked on two legs past
walked on two legs past participle
walking on two legs present participle
walks on two legs third person singular

Morphology

walk + on + two + leg

The meaning is directly built from the constituents: 'walk' + 'on' + 'two' + 'legs' yields the literal sense of moving using two legs, and that literal sense readily extends to refer to humans or to qualify someone among humans. This compositional, mostly literal relation is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the words will grasp the expression's intended meaning.

Etymology

Walk on two legs comes from the clear picture of a person who walks on two legs, not on four like many animals. So, saying someone 'walked on two legs' is a strong way to praise them — it means they are 'very special' or 'the most remarkable person' among humans.