Meaning
To run away quickly
Cultural Background
Czechs often use humor to deal with stressful situations. This idiom is a perfect example of using a funny image to describe fear or avoidance. Similar 'leg' idioms exist in Polish and Slovak, reflecting a shared linguistic heritage in describing movement through body parts. In rural areas, this might still be used literally to describe someone running across a field, whereas in cities, it's almost always metaphorical for avoiding social situations. This idiom is a favorite in Czech children's literature to describe the 'bad guy' escaping at the end of a story.
Use the Past Tense
You will mostly hear this in the past tense (vzal/vzala) when people are telling stories about what happened.
Not for Sports
Don't use this for a professional athlete winning a race. It implies fleeing, not winning.
Meaning
To run away quickly
Use the Past Tense
You will mostly hear this in the past tense (vzal/vzala) when people are telling stories about what happened.
Not for Sports
Don't use this for a professional athlete winning a race. It implies fleeing, not winning.
Perfect for Excuses
It's a great, lighthearted way to explain why you left a boring event early without offending anyone too much.
Test Yourself
Fill in the missing verb in the correct past tense form (he).
Když uviděl pavouka, ______ nohy na ramena.
The subject is 'he' (implied by 'uviděl'), so the past tense verb must be 'vzal'.
Which situation best fits the idiom?
Kdy bys mohl říct 'vzal nohy na ramena'?
The idiom specifically means to run away quickly.
Complete the dialogue.
A: Proč tu Petr není? B: Jakmile uviděl tu hromadu práce, ______.
The context of avoiding work fits 'vzít nohy na ramena'.
Match the Czech idiom with its English equivalent.
Vzít nohy na ramena
Both 'To leg it' and 'Vzít nohy na ramena' mean to run away fast.
🎉 Score: /4
Visual Learning Aids
Practice Bank
4 exercisesKdyž uviděl pavouka, ______ nohy na ramena.
The subject is 'he' (implied by 'uviděl'), so the past tense verb must be 'vzal'.
Kdy bys mohl říct 'vzal nohy na ramena'?
The idiom specifically means to run away quickly.
A: Proč tu Petr není? B: Jakmile uviděl tu hromadu práce, ______.
The context of avoiding work fits 'vzít nohy na ramena'.
Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:
Both 'To leg it' and 'Vzít nohy na ramena' mean to run away fast.
🎉 Score: /4
Frequently Asked Questions
10 questionsNo, it's informal and often funny. However, don't use it for serious tragedies.
Yes! 'Moje kočka vzala nohy na ramena' is perfectly natural.
They are interchangeable in this idiom, but 'vzít' is slightly more common.
No, you always use 'nohy' (legs) and 'ramena' (shoulders) in the plural.
Only with colleagues you know well. Don't use it in a meeting with your CEO.
Yes, almost exactly.
Not at all. It is still very much alive and used by all generations.
No, that makes no sense in Czech. It must be 'ramena'.
Vezmu, vezmeš, vezme, vezmeme, vezmete, vezmou.
Yes, very often in comedies and fairy tales.
Related Phrases
Vzít do zaječích
synonymTo run away like a rabbit.
Zmizet jako pára nad hrncem
similarTo disappear like steam over a pot.
Ukázat někomu záda
similarTo show someone one's back.
Zůstat stát jako solný sloup
contrastTo stand still like a pillar of salt.
