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What does the expression "too light on its feet" mean?



 
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ESL Forum | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
meaning of "could do worse than" | knowledge or knowledges?
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What does the expression "too light on its feet" mean? #1 (permalink) Tue May 06, 2008 19:50 pm   What does the expression "too light on its feet" mean?
 

Hello everybody,

What does it mean when something is too light on its feet?

I came across this expression a few days ago and I'm not quite sure I understood it (I'm not a native speaker).

Thank you for any help!
Babyface
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What does the expression "too light on its feet" mean? #2 (permalink) Tue May 06, 2008 22:07 pm   What does the expression "too light on its feet" mean?
 

Hello Babyface,

At first glance, it appears to mean "unstable; liable to topple over" – either literally or metaphorically.

Can you remember the full context of the phrase?

Best wishes,

MrP
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What does the expression "too light on its feet" mean? #3 (permalink) Wed May 07, 2008 7:41 am   What does the expression "too light on its feet" mean?
 

Thank you MrPedantic!

I'm afraid I can't remember the full context in which it was said, but what you wrote makes perfect sense. What I thought at first is that perhaps it means "not serious enough" or "lightweight" or something of that sort. The point is that it sounded to me like something with a negative connotation, but not being a native speaker, I can't be sure about it. Was my intuition right?
Babyface
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Joined: 07 Nov 2007
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What does the expression "too light on its feet" mean? #4 (permalink) Wed May 07, 2008 8:06 am   What does the expression "too light on its feet" mean?
 

Then let's wait for some native speakers' ideas Wink
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What does the expression "too light on its feet" mean? #5 (permalink) Wed May 07, 2008 11:36 am   What does the expression "too light on its feet" mean?
 

.
MrPedantic is a native speaker, Nessie.
.
Yankee
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What does the expression "too light on its feet" mean? #6 (permalink) Wed May 07, 2008 22:38 pm   What does the expression "too light on its feet" mean?
 

babyface wrote:
The point is that it sounded to me like something with a negative connotation, but not being a native speaker, I can't be sure about it. Was my intuition right?


Hello babyface,

Yes, I think your intuition was right. In ordinary usage, "too X" tends to mean "superfluously or excessively X". If the adjective X is neutral, therefore, the connotation tends to be negative.

If the adjective itself has positive connotations, on the other hand, "too X" may also have positive connotations, e.g.

1. You're too kind!

which means "you are abundantly kind".

Best wishes,

MrP

PS: A cheery Wednesday evening to Yankee and Nessie.
MrPedantic
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What does the expression "too light on its feet" mean? #7 (permalink) Thu May 08, 2008 0:44 am   What does the expression "too light on its feet" mean?
 

.
Thanks, MrP. Hope your evening is (was?) cheery, too. Very Happy
.
Yankee
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