to shake a leg
9
6.5
- idiom
- /ʃeɪk ə lɛɡ/
- Archaic
:
apresurarse
- - Come on, come on, shake a leg.
- C'mon, shake a leg
- let's shake a leg
Examples
-
Come on, fellas, shake a leg.
-
You, uh... care to shake a leg?
-
But you really should shake a leg if we're going to get there in time.
Fiction book (2002) -
- You guys shake a leg, let's got out of here.
-
And let's shake a leg, ladies.
Fiction book (1999) -
"All right, let's shake a leg," Aunt Molly said.
Fiction book (2001) -
Come on, Dali, shake a leg.
-
-We'd better shake a leg.
-
Willard, shake a leg!
-
We need to shake a leg if we want to catch the bus.
Synonyms
637
1.0
To move or act more quickly to avoid being late
548
1.0
To move or act quickly because a situation needs it
512
6.7
To hurry so you do something faster, often to avoid being late
118
3.2
Climb quickly using your hands and feet on steep or rough ground
97
1.0
To make someone move or work faster than they want
89
4.2
Move quickly and with energy, often because you are in a hurry
54
3.1
To move quickly with short, hurried steps because you feel afraid or rushed
35
5.2
To hurry and go faster, often when driving
29
2.8
Move a short distance quickly, often to make room or hurry
22
3.2
To move quickly with small, light, playful steps
2
9.0
To leave quickly to escape or avoid something
1
7.7
To move quickly on foot
1
9.0
Move quickly on foot to escape or reach a place fast
1
2.7
To move quickly in one direction
1
8.2
To move quickly with short, hurried steps when you feel nervous
To hurry to do something so you do not miss a good chance
Antonyms
How Fast
Surface Forms
Morphology
The verb 'shake' (move rapidly) combined with 'leg' (limb) gives a clear cue about physical movement, so learners who know the words can guess it involves moving. However the conventionalized imperative meaning 'hurry up' is an idiomatic extension (urging someone to act faster) that is not fully predictable from the parts and varies cross-linguistically, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
The idiom shake a leg may come from old ships where officers woke sleeping crew by tugging or shakeing a sailor's leg to get him moving. One popular story says that seeing someone shake a leg meant they must hurry, so today the phrase means 'to hurry up'.