to run from pillar to post
- idiom
- Informal
:
ir de un lado a otro
- After she lost her job, she felt like she was running from pillar to post trying to find work.
Examples
-
He is always running from pillar to post, juggling various tasks and feeling overwhelmed.
-
I've spent my life running from pillar to post.
-
The child was running from pillar to post in the park, not knowing which ride to try first.
Synonyms
54
3.1
To move quickly with short, hurried steps because you feel afraid or rushed
7
1.4
To move around quickly and energetically without a clear purpose
To move quickly with short, hurried steps because of fear
Antonyms
How Hectic
Surface Forms
Morphology
run + from + pillar + to + post
The literal parts ('run' + 'from...to...' and concrete nouns 'pillar'/'post') signal physical movement between fixed points, so a learner could infer some notion of moving around. However, the idiomatic sense of being hurried, bounced around, or sent between tasks/people is a metaphorical extension and not fully predictable from the constituents, so a B1 learner knowing the words would probably not derive the full meaning without prior exposure.
Etymology
Run from pillar to post may come from the simple image of someone sent running back and forth between strong supports like a pillar and a post, always moving but not staying in one place. That's why the phrase means 'moving from place to place quickly and without a clear goal' or feeling confused and very busy.