to have legs
5
7.7
- idiom
- Informal
:
tener potencial
- I just don't think it has legs—at least, to continue its explosive growth.
- story has legs
- thing has legs
- still has legs
I mean, most actors would dream of being on something that has legs like that, that just keeps going.
- I mean, most actors would dream of being on something that has legs like that, that just keeps going.
- But for right now, it seems that much like her husband, this campaign has legs.
- What, what I'm looking for, Brad, is what are you looking for in is this, does this have legs?
- So we think Carmen has, as we say in the biz, has legs in terms of being able to potentially really try her out in other places.
- But the fact that The Office has has legs and has great, it has a kind of a timelessness.
- I don't think we probably have quite imagined that all-encompassing, but we knew it had legs.
Examples
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So the new bull market has legs, says this analyst.
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If it has legs, then it will wind up being another dozen news cycles in which Romney and the GOP have to play defense.
Blog text (3) -
The question is, does it have legs?
Blog text (10) -
This one may have legs.
Blog text (1) -
What makes this wave of interest appear to have legs is that it's getting support from upstairs.
Blog text (14) -
I invented a product last night that I think might have legs, so to speak.
Blog text (7) -
Let us hope that this story does indeed have legs and that whoever covers it in the press will give you a prominent role.
Blog text (30) -
This issue has legs.
Blog text (10) -
Given the partisan tilt of the state, that's a refrain that should have legs down the stretch.
Blog text (17) -
Many industry leaders believe this innovative idea will have legs as it adapts to market changes.
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The expression uses a metaphorical extension of 'legs' (literal body parts that enable standing/movement) to mean staying power or continued viability, so its sense is related to the constituents but not directly literal. A B1 learner who knows 'have' and 'legs' might guess it means something like 'ability to continue,' but the specific pragmatic sense of potential success or longevity is not fully predictable and the construction is not universally mirrored in other languages, so prior exposure helps.
Etymology
Have legs may come from the simple image of something with legs that can walk on and keep going. So, if an idea 'has legs', it can go on and 'succeed'.