English in a Minute Series 5
Intermediate level
Phrases with 'foot'
Episode 251223 / 23 Dec 2025

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Introduction
You know 'foot' – you wear shoes on your feet, stand on two feet and walk with them! There are some English phrases with the word 'foot' – learn some of them here with Beth.
Phrases with 'foot'
put your foot down
say no; stop something happening
- You can’t put that image of me online! I’m putting my foot down.
get off on the wrong foot
make an unsuccessful start at something
- A colleague and I got off on the wrong foot, but we quickly became great friends.
put your best foot forward
try as hard as you can
- I’ll be happy whatever the result, as long as you put your best foot forward.
sweep someone off their feet
make someone fall in love with you
- She swept me off my feet instantly – she just makes me laugh so much.
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TRANSCRIPT
Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript.
Beth
I'm standing on one foot… woah!
If you put your foot down, you say no. Parents or teachers might put their foot down – they have the authority to stop something happening.
No more cake. I'm putting my foot down. You've eaten loads!
If you get off on the wrong foot, you make an unsuccessful start at something.
We got off on the wrong foot. I asked him to turn his music down on my first day and he didn’t like it.
If you put your best foot forward, you try as hard as you can. You might say this to someone who's about to sit an exam.
It's scary but just put your best foot forward. You can do it!
And if you sweep someone off their feet, you make them fall in love with you.
He’s taking you to a five-star hotel? Wow! He is really trying to sweep you off your feet.
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