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Glite Dictionary
to show a leg

to show a leg

1 9.5
To come out and join other people
  • idiom
  • Archaic
: asomarse
  • The kids were hiding in the bushes, but they couldn’t resist the urge to show a leg and peek out.

Examples

  • After being shy at the party, she finally decided to show a leg and join the dance floor.

  • Show a leg, sailor!

    Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

  • He was hesitant at first, but his friends encouraged him to show a leg and take part in the fun.

Antonyms

to hide
∞ 1.0

To keep something so others cannot see or understand it

to keep a low profile
36 3.9

Act quietly so people do not notice you

How Visible

to appear
873 1.0
to show a leg
  • Archaic
1 9.5
to peep
30 3.2
to hide out
  • Informal
76 5.6

Surface Forms

show a leg infinitive
showing a leg present participle
shows a leg third person singular
showed a leg past
shown a leg past participle

Morphology

show + a + leg

A B1 learner who knows 'show' and 'leg' would most likely interpret this literally as revealing a body part; the idiomatic sense 'make an appearance/participate' is not a predictable extension of those constituents. The expression is idiomatic and context- or dialect-dependent, with no obvious cross-linguistic compositional logic, so its meaning cannot be reliably derived from the parts.

Etymology

Show a leg may come from life on old ships, where officers would call for sailors to lift a leg from their bed so the officer could see who was awake. So the phrase now means 'to make an appearance' or 'to join in'.