bandy-legged
Americanadjective
Usage
What does bandy-legged mean? Bandy-legged is used to describe someone with bandy legs—a condition in which the legs curve outward, causing the knees to point outward. The term bowlegged (or bow-legged) means the same thing and is more common. The condition known as bandy legs can also be called bowleg or bow legs (in which the word bow is a reference to the type of curve seen in a bow—the kind used to shoot arrows). The adjective bandy means the same thing as bowed—having a bend or crook outward. Many young children appear to be bandy-legged, but in most cases their legs straighten as they continue to grow. However, in some cases, abnormal bowing of the legs may be caused by diseases like rickets or Blount’s disease. Bandy-leggedness is associated with cowboys, probably due to the idea that the condition can be the result of spending too much time straddling a saddle. However, frequent horseback riding is unlikely to cause bandy legs. Example: I was bandy-legged as a kid, but my legs straightened out by the time I was four or so.
Etymology
Origin of bandy-legged
First recorded in 1680–90
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Beckham will be genuinely missed, in part for his unstinting commitment, relentlessly hobbling about the pitch like a faithful bandy-legged horse.
From The Guardian • May 17, 2013
Fronckowiak is a bullet of a man, snub and bandy-legged as if he could easily withstand 20-foot swells on a fishing boat.
From Salon • Feb. 23, 2013
Foster, a slight, bandy-legged actor whose intensity makes up for his lack of pretty features, is just the foil Statham needs.
From Time • Jan. 28, 2011
Last week, with all the poise of a bandy-legged ballerina, the annual TV Emmy Awards program skipped out before the cameras, tripped over its cue cards and fell flat on its face.
From Time Magazine Archive
The Headmaster, while I was at Repton, struck me as being a rather shoddy bandy-legged little fellow with a big bald head and lots of energy but not much charm.
From "Boy: Tales of a Childhood" by Roald Dahl
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
