to heel
Idioms-
Close behind someone, as in The dog started chasing the car but Miriam called him to heel . This expression is used almost solely in reference to dogs. The heel in this idiom, first recorded in 1810, is the person's.
-
Under control or discipline, as in By a series of surprise raids the police brought the gang members to heel . This expression alludes to controlling a dog by training it to follow at one's heels. [Late 1800s]
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.
