to take to one's heels
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To run off. Hampers all round, and no heel-taps. The bumpers are to be drained to the bottom of the glass.
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 “to take to one's heels” mean?
To run off. Hampers all round, and no heel-taps. The bumpers are to be drained to the bottom of the glass.
Is “to take to one's heels” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.