best foot foremost
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Use all possible dispatch. To "set on foot" is to set going. If you have various- powers of motion, set your best foremost. .
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “best foot foremost” mean?
Use all possible dispatch. To "set on foot" is to set going. If you have various- powers of motion, set your best foremost. .
Is “best foot foremost” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.