think on one's feet



think on one's feet

React quickly, be mentally agile, as in Reporters bombarded him with difficult questions, but Bill was very good at thinking on his feet . This expression uses on one's feet in the sense of "wide awake, alertly." [First half of 1900s]
See also: feet, on, think

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Yaroslavayah-rah-SLAH-vah (Russian)Russian, Ukrainian, Medieval Slavic
Quintin['kwintin]
CsillaCHEEL-lawHungarian
ĐOrĐE-Serbian
Fedir-Ukrainian
D'artagnan-Literature