to take a mile
1
8.4
- idiom
- Informal
:
tomar más de lo que se da
- Give her an inch and she'd take a mile every single time.
- give an inch, they'll take a mile
I mean, they, they look, it's like you give them an inch, they'll take a mile.
- I mean, they, they look, it's like you give them an inch, they'll take a mile.
Examples
-
Give the man an inch and he would take a mile!
Fiction book (1990) -
Give 'em an inch, they take a mile.
-
You give them an inch and they take a mile.
Blog text (11) -
Give an inch, take a mile!
Blog text (1) -
I give this other woman an inch and she'll take a mile.
Blog text (28) -
Give the Keynesians an inch, and they take a mile.
Blog text (15) -
If we give these communists an inch, they're gonna take a mile.
-
She had screamed at Nola, "I've given you an inch and you've taken a mile."
Fiction book (1990) -
If you let her take a mile with a small favor, she will always ask for more later.
-
I know that if I give him an inch, he will take a mile and demand even greater things.
Synonyms
Allowing a small favor makes someone try to take much more than you wanted
To trick someone and steal all their money and belongings
How Opportunistic
- Informal
1
8.4
549
4.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal parts 'take' and 'mile' suggest taking a large amount or distance, so the idiom's idea of taking more than offered is partially inferable by analogy (a mile is much larger than an inch). However the specific pragmatic sense of exploiting a small concession (as in 'give an inch, take a mile') relies on cultural/proverbial knowledge and is metaphorical rather than fully compositional, so a B1 learner who merely knows the words may not reliably predict the idiomatic usage.
Etymology
The phrase take a mile comes from the old saying 'give an inch, take a mile'. Imagine you give someone a small favor and they simply take a whole mile, and that clear image of taking much more explains why take a mile means 'to take advantage' of a small favor.