walk on broken glass

present singular third person walks on broken glass · participle present walking on broken glass · participle past walked on broken glass · past walked on broken glass · alternative walk across broken glass · alternative crawl on broken glass · alternative crawl across broken glass

1. idiomaticTo do everything possible to achieve something, even if it involves great risk or discomfort.

   Trump won’t succeed, as his successive losses of the House, Senate, presidency and last week’s midterm results show. Too many Americans would crawl on broken glass to vote against him, no matter who his general election opponent may be. They have seen enough.

   2022 November 15, George T. Conway III, “Trump is out for vengeance — and to protect himself from prosecution”, in The Washington Post

   1 more example

   “We’ve got a lot of players not playing domestic football week in, week out. What is it? Is it the crest on their chest that makes them raise their game? It must be. It’s playing for Wales. It’s powerful and everybody would walk on broken glass to get into this squad. Credit goes to the players.”

   2021 June 16, Ben Fisher, “Robert Page hails Gareth Bale’s courage after captain drives Wales to victory”, in The Guardian

   Synonyms: bend over backwards, go to great lengths, go to the ends of the earth, move heaven and earth