Idiom
drag one's feet
Meaning
To procrastinate, put off; to dawdle, avoid, or make progress slowly and reluctantly.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“She drags her feet when it's time to clean.”
“He drags his feet whenever he has to visit the dentist.”
“Stop dragging your feet and finish your homework now.”
“The company is dragging its feet on hiring more staff, even though everyone is overworked.”
“The landlord is dragging his feet about fixing the broken heater, so the apartment is still freezing.”
“My brother is dragging his feet on signing the contract because he is not sure he wants the job.”
“Despite the looming deadline, the committee dragged its feet for weeks, reluctant to make the unpopular decision that would anger half its members.”
Examples
simple
“She drags her feet when it's time to clean.”
“He drags his feet whenever he has to visit the dentist.”
“Stop dragging your feet and finish your homework now.”
contextual
“The company is dragging its feet on hiring more staff, even though everyone is overworked.”
“The landlord is dragging his feet about fixing the broken heater, so the apartment is still freezing.”
“My brother is dragging his feet on signing the contract because he is not sure he wants the job.”
complex
“Despite the looming deadline, the committee dragged its feet for weeks, reluctant to make the unpopular decision that would anger half its members.”
Origin
From the literal action of walking while dragging one's feet along the ground, a gesture indicating a lack of enthusiasm or a calculated effort to slow down movement. It is often compared to the related physical metaphor *dig in one's heels*, though the former suggests a reluctant pace rather than an outright refusal to proceed.
Key words
Related idioms
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