Foont, subs. (thieves’)—A sovereign [Probably a corruption of Ger.
Pfund.] For synonyms, see Canary.
1879. J. W. Horsley, in Macm. Mag., XL., 502. The mob got me up a
break (collection), and I got between five or six foont
(sovereigns).
Foot, verb. (common).—1. To acknowledge payment; e.g., to foot a bill;
cf., Foot-up.
1848. Durivage, Stray Subjects, p. 183. If our plan succeeded the
landlord was to foot the bill, and stand treat.
2. (football and colloquial).—To kick; to hoof (q.v.). Cf., Merchant of
Venice, I., 3, You, that did void your rheum upon my beard, And foot
me, as you spurn a stranger cur.
1852. Bristed, Upper Ten Thousand, p. 223. Both teams were footing
their very best.
To foot it, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To walk. For synonyms, see Pad the
Hoof.
1892. Price, From Arctic Ocean to Yellow Sea. The discomfort of
having to foot it.
To foot-up, verb. phr. (American colloquial).—To sum up the total (of a
bill); to tot up (q.v.). Hence, to pay; to discharge one’s obligations;
to reckon up (q.v.); to summarize both merits and defects, and strike a
balance. Footing-up = the reckoning, the sum total. Fr., gamberger.
1865. Sala, A Trip to Barbary. The Arab abhors statistics. He won’t
be tabulated if he could help it, and were you to go to Algeria,
Doctor Colenso, you would find a deeply rooted objection among the
people to the reckoning, or footing-up, as the Americans call it,
of anything animate or inanimate.
1871. De Vere, Americanisms, p. 310. To foot a bill, by paying the
amount at the bottom of the account, is a phrase equally well known
abroad and with us.
1882. McCabe, New York, XXI., 333. The transactions of ‘the Street’
foot up an almost fabulous sum daily.
1884. G. A. S[ala], in Ill. Lon. News, 29 March, p. 294, col. 3.
They foot up (American English) to an almost alarming amount in
thousands of dollars.
To put one’s best foot (or leg) foremost, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To
use all possible despatch; to exert oneself to the utmost.
1596. Shakspeare, King John, iv., 2. Nay, but make haste; the
better foot before.
To put one’s foot into anything, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To make a
mess of it; to get into a scrape. The bishop (i.e., the Devil) has put
his foot in it (Old English proverb) is said of burned porridge or
over-roasted meat.—Grose. Fr., faire une gaffe.
1823. Bee, Dict. of the Turf, s.v.
1888. Daily Telegraph, 7 May. Faire une gaffe, in modern Parisian
slang, may be best rendered as to put your foot in it.
To have one foot (or leg) in the grave, verb. phr. (common).—On one’s
last legs; measured for a funeral sermon. Also as adj.
1825. English Spy, i., pp. 199–200. With one leg in the grave he’ll
laugh.
1890. Globe, 15 May, p. 5, col. 2. One-foot-in-the-grave paralytic
sort of people.
To pull foot, verb. phr. (American).—To make haste. Variants are to
take one’s foot in one’s hand, and to make tracks; but for synonyms,
see Absquatulate and Skedaddle.
1825. Neal, Brother Jonathan, Bk. I., ch. iv., How they pulled foot
when they seed us commin.
1836. Michael Scott, Tom Cringle’s Log, ch. viii. ‘Why, pull foot,
captain,’ promptly replied Paul.
1843–4. Haliburton, Sam Slick in England. I look’d up; it was
another shower, by gosh. I pulls foot for dear life.
To take Mr. Foot’s horse, verb. phr. (old).—To walk; to go by Shank’s
mare (q.v.) For synonyms, see Pad the hoof.
To know the length of one’s foot, verb. phr. (old).—To be well
acquainted with one’s character.
1581. Lilly, Euphues, etc. But you shall not know the length of my
foot, untill by your cunning you get commendation.
1614. Terence in English. He measures an other man’s foote by his
owne last. Hee considers an other mans meaning by his owne intent.
Footer, subs. (Harrow: once common).—1. Short for ‘football.’