show a leg

verb

To wake up and get out of bed.

“Show a leg or you’re going to be late.”

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Meanings

verbshow a leg (third-person singular simple present shows a leg, present participle showing a leg, simple past showed a leg, past participle shown a leg)

present singular third person shows a leg · participle present showing a leg · past showed a leg · participle past shown a leg

  1. idiomaticimperativenauticalTo wake up and get out of bed.

    Show a leg or you’re going to be late.

Origin

Supposedly originated in the 19th-century Royal Navy as a waking call.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

show a leg. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/show%20a%20leg

MLA

“show a leg.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/show%20a%20leg. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “show a leg,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/show%20a%20leg.

Source: show a leg on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.