Word.ws English Dictionary

not have a leg to stand on

not have a leg to stand on verb: to lack support, as in an argument, debate, or negotiation.

Verb

not have a leg to stand on

  1. (idiomatic) To lack support, as in an argument, debate, or negotiation.
    • ‘You see?’ said Mrs Gowan, turning the palms of her hands towards Mr Meagles, as if she were Justice herself, representing to him that he had better confess, for he had not a leg to stand on.1857, Charles Dickens, chapter 8, in Little Dorrit, volume 2
    • "But Mr. Elwell's lawyers apparently did not take your view, since I suppose the suit was withdrawn by their advice." "Oh, yes, they knew he hadn't a leg to stand on."1910, Edith Wharton, “Afterward”, in Tales of Men and Ghosts

Questions about not have a leg to stand on

What does not have a leg to stand on mean?
Not have a leg to stand on means to lack support, as in an argument, debate, or negotiation.
What part of speech is not have a leg to stand on?
Not have a leg to stand on is a verb.

Words near not have a leg to stand on in the dictionary

  1. not happy, Jan
  2. not hardly
  3. not have a bean
  4. not have a care in the world
  5. not have a clue
  6. not have a leg to stand on
  7. not have a pot to piss in
  8. not have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of
  9. not have a prayer
  10. not have both oars in the water
  11. not have the faintest

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: not have a leg to stand on (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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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-not have a leg to stand on.ogg.

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