💃 Shake a Leg: The Art of Hurrying Up and Cutting a Rug 🕺
“Shake a leg” has a dual historic charm. In one corner, it stands as the peppy command urging someone to hurry up. Yank those boots on, and get going already! Yet, in yesteryears, this phrase was more apt to request your jive on the dance floor. Come on, swing your partner and dos-à-dos!
Related and Similar Terms:
- Chop-chop: A quick, urging phrase synonymous with “shake a leg.”
- Move it: Another modern, casual plea for hurry.
- Get cracking: Roll up your sleeves and start working, pronto!
- Hustle: Oozing with action, evoking images of moving fast and working hard.
- Hit the dance floor: When used in the older sense, it makes you want to break into the Charleston or Lindy Hop.
Proverbs and Expressions:
- “Time waits for no man.” 🌐 Unsurprising how this proverb syncs with the urgency behind “shake a leg.”
- “Early bird gets the worm.” 🐦 A nudging nudge toward quick action and promptness.
Quotes:
- “Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.” - Don Marquis
- “Dancing is the poetry of the foot.” - John Dryden (A nod to the bygone dancey dalliance with this idiom.)
Literature, Movies, Songs:
- Book: “Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time” by Brian Tracy.
- Song: 🎵 “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars - Let’s move it and groove it.
- Movie: 🎬 “Footloose” - Nothing screams “shake a leg” quite like ditching the dance ban.
Fictitious Author:
Amanda Quickwit
Publication Date:
2023-10-10
Inspirational Thought-Provoking Farewell:
“Embrace the rhythm in your steps and the urgency in your heart. Life’s too short to stand still, so shake a leg and dance through every moment!”
### Which of these synonyms implies hurry?
- [x] Get cracking
- [ ] Stomp grapes
- [ ] Grazing the grass
- [ ] Napping in hammocks
> **Explanation:** "Get cracking" is a dynamic phrase urging action and swiftness. The others might involve slower, even lazy, activities!
### What's a modern phrase equivalent to "shake a leg"?
- [ ] Drift like a cloud
- [ ] Tiptoe through tulips
- [x] Move it
- [ ] Flutter like a feather
> **Explanation:** "Move it" keeps the urgent undertone alive that "shake a leg" embodies. The rest? Merely poetic distractions.
### True or False: "Shake a leg" once meant to dance.
- [x] True
- [ ] False
> **Explanation:** Indeed true. Back in the 1800s, this phrase hastened the move onto the dance floor before shaking up into today's hustle-and-bustle call-to-action.
