I. noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a chair leg/arm/back/seat
▪
The chair leg has broken.
a head/leg etc wound
▪
The victim died of chest wounds.
a head/leg/shoulder etc injury
▪
He suffered a shoulder injury while playing rugby.
a leg/stage of a journey (= one part of a journey )
▪
We set off on the final leg of our journey.
arm/leg/stomach etc muscles
▪
Her leg muscles ached after the run.
as fast as...legs could carry (= running as quickly as he could )
▪
Johnny ran off as fast as his legs could carry him .
bow legs
cost an arm and a leg (= have a price that is much too high )
▪
A skiing holiday needn’t cost you an arm and a leg.
find/get your sea legs
▪
I felt awful yesterday. But, thankfully, I’ve found my sea legs now.
fracture your leg/arm/hip etc
▪
He fractured his right leg during training.
hind legs/feet/quarters/limbs
hug your knees/arms/legs etc
▪
Sarah sat on the floor, hugging her knees.
hurt your arm/leg/nose etc
▪
He hurt his knee playing football.
leg irons
leg of lamb
▪
a leg of lamb
leg of...tour (= the first part of it )
▪
the first leg of the band’s European tour
leg room
▪
There wasn’t enough leg room.
lift your hand/arm/leg etc
▪
She lifted her hand to knock on the door once again.
▪
Pam lifted her shoulders in a little shrug.
long legs
▪
He stretched out his long legs .
lose an arm/leg/eye etc
▪
He lost his leg in a motorcycle accident.
pair of hands/eyes/legs etc
▪
She felt as if every pair of eyes in the room was on her.
peg leg
sb's waist/chest/leg etc measurement
▪
What is his waist measurement?
sb’s good eye/arm/leg etc (= the one that is not damaged )
▪
He sat up, supporting himself on his good arm.
sea legs
▪
I felt awful yesterday. But, thankfully, I’ve found my sea legs now.
shave your head/legs/armpits etc
▪
She shaved her legs and underarms.
shoot sb in the leg/head etc
▪
He had been shot in the back while trying to escape.
slender legs/arms/fingers etc
thin arms/legs/lips etc
▪
He has long thin hands.
tie sb’s hands/arms/legs/feet
▪
One of them tied her hands behind her back.
touch sb on the arm/leg etc
▪
A hand touched her on the shoulder.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
back
▪
He already travels with a corset for his back problems and leg strapping.
▪
She heard the click of the gate; then nothing, except the crickets rubbing their back legs together in the grass.
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His big rough hands snip and snip-ears, a tail, back legs .
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In other chairs the arm is integral to the front and back legs , and must be fitted at an earlier stage.
▪
A black horse was galloping down it, frisking his back legs like a colt.
▪
Leaning over for balance, take hold of your front ankle and raise the back leg .
▪
Make sure the hip is twisted and the back leg locked straight, while leaning forward and punching to the groin.
bad
▪
He had a bad leg and they kept on at him to hurry up.
▪
A sweetheart, this little lady, not bad legs either.
▪
For Joshua, at sixty-two, and suffering from a bad leg , distances had begun to take on an extraordinary significance.
▪
Kevin Johnson played only 26 minutes while hobbling on a bad leg .
▪
A bad leg confined her to her room, but she still managed to control the house and beyond that the estates.
▪
He was trying to climb up a brick wall, but he's got a bad leg .
▪
Pleased to hear you can ride bareback standing on your bad leg .
broken
▪
He received serious head injuries and a broken leg in the collision on the B1278 near Segefield Hospital.
▪
Graham was a pioneer rock and winter climber before a broken leg turned him to sailing.
▪
The wooden trolley has a broken leg . 4.
▪
His career has been hampered by injury, most noticeably a broken leg in 1983.
▪
But trainer Hannon said any stiffness would have had no connection with the broken leg which led to Mr Brooks' death.
▪
One has a broken neck and two broken legs .
▪
Despite the pain she managed to walk fifty yards with a broken leg to get help.
▪
Andrew suffered a broken leg , broken arm and internal injuries.
front
▪
In other chairs the arm is integral to the front and back legs , and must be fitted at an earlier stage.
▪
The Classic lost a starter Tuesday when Down the Aisle broke a bone in his left front leg after a morning workout.
▪
Repeat the exercise but kick with the front or rear leg as soon as the stance switches.
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When night does fall, she opens the lid and stretches out her two front pairs of legs .
▪
Jump diagonally forwards with the front leg and pick the rear foot up for a high roundhouse kick.
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There are two sets of front legs , which end in what look like suckers.
▪
Brachiosaurus was even heavier than Brontosaurus and had front legs longer than its rear ones, the opposite of Brontosaurus.
hind
▪
The hair is somewhat longer on both front and hind legs .
▪
Using a small cleaver or a large, heavy knife, cut the hind leg across the bone into 2 pieces.
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The beast reared up on its hind legs , screaming with blood showing at its lips and teeth.
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Get up on your hind legs .
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You can but it whole or already cut into joints, such as saddle or hind legs .
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I wanted them to get up on their hind legs and do battle.
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Even the hounds sensed something was amiss and became still, tails pressed between hind legs , watching.
▪
In the photo Glover was as stooped as ever, a trained bear on hind legs .
left
▪
The old man's left leg had been blown off in the war.
▪
On June 15, he broke a bone in his left leg when he fouled a ball off of his shin.
▪
Change to the left leg and repeat.
▪
Gary stepped on a Bouncing Betty. it maimed his left leg .
▪
Application of the roundhouse kick to the head with the left leg .
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His left leg was going into muscle spasms of some sort and he clutched at his knee with frustration.
▪
Bend your left leg in front and extend the right leg.
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Her head was swirling, her mind was racing, her ankle was swelling and her left leg was numb.
long
▪
She swung her long legs over the side of the bed and got up.
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Her forearms and much of her long legs were bare, visible, pale as her face.
▪
Glover completely approved of most of them, of their long , loose legs and intelligent faces.
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The door is opened by the vision of blonde hair and long blue legs .
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She walked off on her long legs .
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She had excellent bone structure, a well-shaped determined chin, a good figure and long legs .
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She leaned back on both elbows, smiling at me faintly down the length of her long , frail legs .
right
▪
The 24-year-old central defender will have his right leg immobilised for six weeks and will miss the play-offs should Boro qualify.
▪
His right arm and leg were the most damaged.
▪
A white petticoat danced as she lifted her bare right leg .
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She had survived polio, but her right leg was weak and deformed, and her right arm dangled loosely.
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Now the right leg is thrust out with the foot travelling in a straight line towards the opponent.
▪
When I began chopping again my axe slipped and cut off my right leg .
▪
The attacker moves forward in a left fighting stance with a front kick off the right leg to the groin area.
▪
She survived with muscles in her abdomen, back, right shoulder, and right leg paralyzed.
short
▪
Too fast for his shorter legs and he fell on his knees.
▪
The terriers bounded along ahead on their short legs .
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Long bodies and short legs are reminders of their close relationship to weasels and polecats.
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He moved like a ghost, his large upper body rigid, his short legs exact metronomes: evolutionary perfection.
▪
Eventually Rutherford's bat protruded too far forward and enabled Stewart to take a smart catch at short leg .
▪
Sylvie noticed that despite his short legs , his girth, he had a grace about him and a power.
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And Stuart Leary believed in following the ball from the bowler's hand even when fielding at short leg .
▪
Jet-pipes are angled out ten degrees. Short gear legs sit the aeroplane conveniently low.
■ NOUN
injury
▪
But Roundhay's chances were not helped when Barry Willis had to be helped off with a leg injury .
▪
He had hand and leg injuries that limited his playing time and sapped his enthusiasm.
▪
Candy Morris suffered horrific leg injuries when she slipped into a paper shredding machine.
▪
Reed had a leg injury that nearly immobilized him, but he played in that game.
▪
They will be without top striker Ridvan Dilmen who has a leg injury .
▪
He thought it quite possible that Pike had starved the horse to help it recover from its leg injury .
▪
Rita was on target to capture the singles title when a recurring leg injury regrettably ended her bid.
▪
Norman Reeve, 24, received multiple bruising and Peter Clark, 25, suffered leg injuries .
muscle
▪
Particular attention should be paid to the lower spine and leg muscles - they remember every step of the way.
▪
Pull up your leg muscles and feel how solid that left thigh is becoming!
▪
Their leg muscles were stiff, their knees hurt, their shoulders resented the weight of their rifles.
▪
How else, besides using her leg muscles , might she be able to help herself to stand up?
▪
You can feel the leg muscles really hardening as you pedal hard up a hill.
▪
Sit as shown, and place your hands on the lower thighs so you can feel the leg muscle contractions.
▪
Ooooooh, how her leg muscles did ache from holding her skirt in this proper fashion - with blue flowers on it.
trouser
▪
A tug at his trouser leg awakened him from his reverie.
▪
A stream of beer runs across the table and drips on to his trouser leg .
▪
On his way out he cocked a leg swiftly and directed a powerful jet against an immaculate trouser leg.
▪
His right trouser leg was torn.
▪
He tossed away the sketch, kicked off his sandals, then pulled off his socks and rolled up his trouser legs .
▪
Henry licked his finger, then rubbed it against his trouser leg .
▪
Sammy followed him, tugging at his trouser legs .
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His trouser legs were scorching from the fire and he twisted to one side.
■ VERB
bend
▪
Now face your left side. Bend your left leg in front and extend the right leg.
▪
Whenever you pick up a heavy load, bend both legs .
▪
As you bend and straighten your legs , make a large circle with your arms.
▪
Raise both legs in the air, crossing them at the ankles; bend your legs a little.
▪
Lie on your side and bend the lower leg .
▪
Their eyes were dull with fever, they had trouble bending their legs , sitting and urinating.
break
▪
In 1934 he crashed at Allessandria, breaking his leg .
▪
But your partner has just broken a leg and is recovering at home.
▪
I might easily have broken a leg in that fall.
▪
They race with broken arms and broken legs .
▪
One had had a suspected heart attack, another had a broken leg .
▪
After recovering from his broken leg , Mark Whipple finished with 13 goals and seven assists.
▪
In the autumn he broke a leg while attending the World Grass Ski Championships.
▪
Wilkerson, who sat out last season recovering from a broken leg , had regained his starting spot.
cross
▪
Fold the other arm over his chest and cross the far leg over his near one.
▪
When the team is going the other way, he crosses his right leg .
▪
Skip, crossing one leg in front and kicking the other leg out to the side.
▪
Just in case, he also crossed his legs and squeezed his eyes shut.
▪
He leans back, crosses his legs , and looks like a man having an agreeable conversation in his club.
▪
When she crossed her legs , he saw for the first time that her skirt was ridiculously short.
▪
Skip, crossing over legs in front and kicking them as high as possible to either side.
▪
Tom Karsten crosses his legs and relaxes even more in a big easy chair.
lose
▪
This was in the heady days of 1978, when I first lost my leg , when very flared trousers were in.
▪
My grandfather had lost his leg in a stockyard accident.
▪
In real combat he would have lost at least one leg at the knee.
▪
Why, in losing his leg and the few horses in his charge, he had lost his boyish good humor.
▪
Four people lost one or both legs , and another lost an arm.
▪
When I heard that he had lost control of his legs , I thought it would be only a matter of weeks.
▪
One group have lost their legs altogether and taken to burrowing underground.
▪
What do you call a triathlete who loses both arms and legs in the water?
pull
▪
Charles Greenwich London Are you pulling my leg ?
▪
Foster pulled his legs back from the fire.
▪
Then pull each leg away in opposite directions as far as it will go.
▪
Standing at the kitchen counter, whining baby pulling on my legs .
▪
I used to tap dance, high kick, do splits, pull my legs up at the back of my head.
▪
Then Elmer gathers up the reins, leans back, and pulls his legs back, toes down in the stirrups.
▪
It is quite legal to go out into the countryside, find a hedgehog and pull off its legs one by one.
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Why would l pull your leg about something like that.
raise
▪
Still lying down, bend the knees and raise the legs . 9.
▪
Its tight lever took him all the way back and raised his bone legs above the horizon.
▪
Keeping your body upright and tummy pulled in tight, draw the raised leg across the body, leading with the ankle.
▪
Lying as shown, raise the top leg , and with foot pointed do 30 mini raises.
▪
With toes pointed, raise the extended leg up and down slightly.
▪
Throw a reverse punch as before and bring the kicking knee forwards without raising the lower leg or turning the hips.
▪
Bend your right leg and raise your left leg high in the air.
▪
From here raise the leg up and down slightly 15 times, holding each raise for 1 second.
stretch
▪
As with hand strikes, kicks should never fully stretch the leg .
▪
He sighed a lot, stretched his legs , cracked his knuckles.
▪
Sometimes Alfred allowed Ruth to leave the barge and walk beside the horse on the towpath, to stretch her legs .
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After lunch, eager to stretch our legs , we simply set off walking without a map.
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I try to be comfortable; to stretch my legs and think soothing thoughts.
▪
Ted got up and stretched his legs .
▪
Richie wanted to stretch his legs .
▪
It came as a relief to stretch his legs at last.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
(with) legs akimbo
a bum ankle/leg etc
▪
C Jeremy Newberry, with a bum ankle and knee, is still expected to start.
as fast as his/her legs could carry him/her
▪
She ran to her mother as fast as her legs could carry her.
bad heart/leg/back etc
▪
A sweetheart, this little lady, not bad legs either.
▪
For Joshua, at sixty-two, and suffering from a bad leg, distances had begun to take on an extraordinary significance.
▪
He had a bad back as well, you know, just like Rich.
▪
He had a bad leg and they kept on at him to hurry up.
▪
Medical deferment for a very bad heart.
▪
That coming from him who would go sick with a bad back whenever a job tired him.
▪
The problems-from bad backs to carpal tunnel syndrome to headaches-have made the headlines of every health magazine in the country.
break a leg
game leg
▪
He alarmed us as children: he had a gruff manner, a game leg and a pronounced cast in one eye.
on its last legs
▪
Your car sounds like it's on its last legs.
▪
It's an old established set-up, but I reckon it's on its last legs now.
▪
The battery, like the torch's owner, was on its last legs.
▪
Without some fresh thinking the G8 is probably on its last legs as an effective body.
on your last legs
▪
Sarah looks as if she's on her last legs.
▪
His exit, when he truly is on his last legs, is his most effective gambit.
▪
It's an old established set-up, but I reckon it's on its last legs now.
▪
It was a nightmare, anyone reading the papers would think I was on my last legs.
▪
Martin Glimmer is the 50-something horn player on his last legs.
▪
The battery, like the torch's owner, was on its last legs.
▪
The fenders flapped in the breeze, and the engine coughed and wheezed like an old man on his last legs.
▪
Without some fresh thinking the G8 is probably on its last legs as an effective body.
pull sb's leg
▪
Did Ronnie really call or are you just pulling my leg?
▪
Don't worry. I was just pulling you leg about moving - I'm not going anywhere.
▪
I think he was just pulling your leg.
rest your feet/legs/eyes etc
▪
Fit in periods away from people, giving yourself the opportunity to renew your energy and rest your eyes.
▪
He rested his eyes on her, very conscious of the smooth skin and her flowery perfume.
▪
I took off my shoes and rested my feet on her thighs as she massaged them.
▪
In fact I was having trouble finding a place to rest my eyes.
▪
Should children with defective vision be resting their eyes?
▪
Slinging his mac over the back of a pew he sat down and rested his feet on the one in front.
sb puts his pants on one leg at a time
shake a leg
▪
If we want to get there by 11:00, we'd better shake a leg.
▪
I stood on my shaking legs, my head on the public phone.
▪
On shaking legs he began to descend.
▪
Outside the others were shouting for Kerry to shake a leg.
▪
The business of the audition is squeezed into all this in less time than it takes to shake a leg.
show a leg!
stretch your legs
▪
A few of the passengers got off the bus to stretch their legs.
▪
After so long on the train, we couldn't wait to get out and stretch our legs.
▪
Do you feel like stopping here and stretching your legs?
▪
After lunch, eager to stretch our legs, we simply set off walking without a map.
▪
Every boy needs to stretch his legs.
▪
Gene and the blond boy followed me to stretch their legs.
▪
He sighed a lot, stretched his legs, cracked his knuckles.
▪
I try to be comfortable; to stretch my legs and think soothing thoughts.
▪
She stretched her legs from thigh to toes - and let go.
▪
She stretched her legs under the table, feeling the same satisfaction that she felt when she woke that morning.
▪
Sometimes Alfred allowed Ruth to leave the barge and walk beside the horse on the towpath, to stretch her legs.
talk the hind leg(s) off a donkey
walk sb's legs off
with your tail between your legs
▪
And that is when the toughest Bruin team in years sent the Huskies home with their tails between their legs.
▪
He knows he can not come back with his tail between his legs.
▪
I would go out of the Chamber with my tail between my legs.
▪
Pottz wiped out three waves in a row and crept back in with his tail between his legs.
▪
They got scared and ran away with their tail between their legs.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
A spider has 8 legs.
▪
a table leg
▪
Angie broke her leg skiing.
▪
Here, pull up your pant legs and let me see if your knees are hurt.
▪
the second leg of the Rolling Stones' U.S. tour
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
Another screaming beast collapsed on broken hind legs.
▪
Breathing through his mouth, he manipulated his probe between her legs.
▪
Officers then shot Mao in the leg several times and he collapsed.
▪
Raise the leg a fraction higher and repeat this tiny movement 15 times, holding each raise for 1 second.
▪
The hen with yellow legs in his room on his documents and books was too much one day.
▪
The men looked pensive as the carriage approached the final leg of the trip to the big house on the hill.
▪
When this can expand no further, it splits and is rolled off, like a nylon stocking from a leg .
II. verb
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
(with) legs akimbo
a bum ankle/leg etc
▪
C Jeremy Newberry, with a bum ankle and knee, is still expected to start.
bad heart/leg/back etc
▪
A sweetheart, this little lady, not bad legs either.
▪
For Joshua, at sixty-two, and suffering from a bad leg, distances had begun to take on an extraordinary significance.
▪
He had a bad back as well, you know, just like Rich.
▪
He had a bad leg and they kept on at him to hurry up.
▪
Medical deferment for a very bad heart.
▪
That coming from him who would go sick with a bad back whenever a job tired him.
▪
The problems-from bad backs to carpal tunnel syndrome to headaches-have made the headlines of every health magazine in the country.
game leg
▪
He alarmed us as children: he had a gruff manner, a game leg and a pronounced cast in one eye.
on its last legs
▪
Your car sounds like it's on its last legs.
▪
It's an old established set-up, but I reckon it's on its last legs now.
▪
The battery, like the torch's owner, was on its last legs.
▪
Without some fresh thinking the G8 is probably on its last legs as an effective body.
on your last legs
▪
Sarah looks as if she's on her last legs.
▪
His exit, when he truly is on his last legs, is his most effective gambit.
▪
It's an old established set-up, but I reckon it's on its last legs now.
▪
It was a nightmare, anyone reading the papers would think I was on my last legs.
▪
Martin Glimmer is the 50-something horn player on his last legs.
▪
The battery, like the torch's owner, was on its last legs.
▪
The fenders flapped in the breeze, and the engine coughed and wheezed like an old man on his last legs.
▪
Without some fresh thinking the G8 is probably on its last legs as an effective body.
sb puts his pants on one leg at a time
with your tail between your legs
▪
And that is when the toughest Bruin team in years sent the Huskies home with their tails between their legs.
▪
He knows he can not come back with his tail between his legs.
▪
I would go out of the Chamber with my tail between my legs.
▪
Pottz wiped out three waves in a row and crept back in with his tail between his legs.
▪
They got scared and ran away with their tail between their legs.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
Calling Emily, I legged it to the youth hostel two miles away.
▪
I legged it before the cops came.
▪
The arduous task of legging through a long tunnel like that under Castle Hill at Dudley could take over 3 hours.