Word.ws English Dictionary

having a bone in one's leg

having a bone in one's leg is the present participle and gerund of have a bone in one's leg.

Meaning of have a bone in one's leg

Verb

have a bone in one's leg (third-person singular simple present has a bone in one's leg, present participle having a bone in one's leg, simple past and past participle had a bone in one's leg)

  1. (UK, informal) Used as a fatuous excuse to avoid doing something.
    • - Jimmy, run along to the shop and get some potatoes.
      - I can't: I've got a bone in my leg.

Questions about having a bone in one's leg

What is having a bone in one's leg the present participle and gerund of?
Having a bone in one's leg is the present participle and gerund of have a bone in one's leg.

Words near having a bone in one's leg in the dictionary

  1. having a bad time of it
  2. having a ball
  3. having a bath
  4. having a bird
  5. having a bite
  6. having a bone in one's leg
  7. having a bone to pick
  8. having a brick in one's hat
  9. having a bun in the oven
  10. having a care
  11. having a clue

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: having a bone in one's leg (page history and authors); have a bone in one's leg (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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