leg up, a
Save This Word!
The act of assisting someone, giving someone a boost. For example, Studying with Jane, who knows French history well, will give you a leg up for the final exam. This usage alludes to helping a person get on a horse by getting a foot in the stirrup. [First half of 1800s]
A position of advantage, as in Because of the advertising campaign, we had a leg up on the competition.
QUIZ
QUIZ YOURSELF ON "WAS" VS. "WERE"!
Were you ready for a quiz on this topic? Well, here it is! See how well you can differentiate between the uses of "was" vs. "were" in this quiz.
Question 1 of 7
“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.
Words nearby leg up, a
Alecto, alectryomancy, alee, alegar, Alegrete, leg up, a, alehouse, Aleichem, aleichem shalom, Aleixandre, Alekhine
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.