rubber-legged

[ruhb-er-leg-id, -legd]

adjective

1. unsteady and weak on one's feet, as from exhaustion, fright, or intoxication.

   At mile 22, the hiker complained of feeling dehydrated and rubber-legged.

Word History and Origins

Origin of rubber-legged¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

But last June he was rubber-legged and dry heaving in 95-degree heat when he bowed out of the 37-mile Rachel Carson Trail Challenge outside Pittsburgh.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Think of rubber-legged Ray Bolger in 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz” and 1952’s “Where’s Charley?”; long-limbed Charlotte Greenwood, whose trademark high kicks entertained audiences in such musicals as 1940’s “Young People” and 1955’s “Oklahoma!”; and the gravity-defying Nicholas Brothers — Fayard and Harold — whose leaps and astonishing splits were the high points of numerous musicals including 1940’s “Down Argentine Way” and 1941’s “Sun Valley Serenade.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Enthralled by the 1980s sunglasses worn by the rubber-legged teen social media star Roy Purdy in his absurdist dance videos?

Read more on New York Times

I swung my feet over the edge of the bed, and, rubber-legged, hopped down onto the floor.

Read more on Literature

I pause for a couple of seconds, letting the tiny Rubber-Legged Gotcha fly sink the foot or so to the sandy bottom, then faintly twitch the line in my left hand, hoping to make the lure appear to be a hapless crab.

Read more on Washington Post