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Glite Dictionary
by the heels

by the heels

9.0
Held so you cannot move or escape
  • idiom
translation icon : a rastras
  • After the accident, she found herself by the heels, unable to move due to the pain.

Examples

  • The courtroom developments caught the defendant by the heels, leaving no chance to respond.

  • He was held by the heels by mounting debts and obligations.

  • The storm laid the ship by the heels for several days.

  • The cat had the mouse by the heels.

  • He felt by the heels after the accident.

  • Caught by the heels in a sudden storm, the hikers could do nothing but wait for help.

  • The surprise announcement left the employees by the heels, unsure of their future at the company.

Synonyms

rooted
vsby the heels
5.5

Unable to move because of shock, fear, or surprise

is a general helpless immobility not limited to shock or surprise
to laid by the heels
vsby the heels
  • Archaic
9.9

Held by the police or other officials and not allowed to go free

is a helpless immobile state not only caused by capture or arrest

Antonyms

free
∞ 1.0

Able to act as you want without limits

mobile
81 2.7

Able to change or move easily

How Helpless

powerless
138 3.6
by the heels
9.0
stuck
∞ 1.0
impeded
5.7

Surface Forms

by the heels positive

Morphology

by + the + heel

The phrase literally describes being held at the heel(s): a B1 learner who knows 'by' (indicating location or contact) and 'heel' (rear part of the foot) can infer someone grabbed at the heels would be immobilised and unable to escape. This is a physically motivated, compositional image common across languages, so the meaning is directly derivable from the constituents.

Etymology

By the heels may come from the image of someone grabbed and held by their heels, or even carried upside down, so they cannot move or run. That's why the phrase is used to mean being 'helpless' or 'unable to escape'.