1. Home
2. Idioms
3. cool one's heels

cool one's heels

---

---

cool one's heels

Wait or be kept waiting, as in I've been cooling my heels in the doctor's waiting room for at least an hour. This term originally meant to cool one's feet when they become hot from walking, and began to be used ironically for being forced to rest (or wait) in the early 1600s.

See also: cool, heel