make a leg en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Meanings
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(UK, idiomatic) To make a deep bow with the right leg drawn back.
"I beg pardon," said Mr. Datchery, making a leg with his hat under his arm, as he addressed himself equally to both gentlemen.
1870 April–September, Charles Dickens, chapter 18, in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1870, →OCLC:"Father, return thanks; make a leg—no man can do it better. Master Mordacks, you shall have our utmost duty."
1880, R. D. Blackmore, chapter 26, in Mary Anerley: A Yorkshire Tale:King Richard II: What must the king do now? must he submit? […] What says King Bolingbroke? will his majesty Give Richard leave to live till Richard die? You make a leg, and Bolingbroke says ay.
1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act 3, scene 3]:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| makes a leg | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| making a leg | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| made a leg | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| made a leg | Tense=Past | lexicographic |
Synonyms
Translations (3)
fi pokata (to make a deep bow) · pl płaszczyć się (to make a deep bow) · pl bić pokłony (to make a deep bow)