putting spurs to

Verb

put spurs to (third-person singular simple present puts spurs to, present participle putting spurs to, simple past and past participle put spurs to)

1. To prod (a mount) with spurs.
   • He would approach the object slowly and cautiously, and, when very near it, would put spurs to his horse and dash by.1884, Hezekiah Butterworth, Zigzag Journeys in Northern Lands, page 48

   Synonyms:

   set spurs to

2. To prod into greater activity, speed, or diligence.
   • I congratulate you on your memory of what is past, whence I confess that you have put spurs to my almost weary pen.1873, William Stubbs, A Translation of Such Documents as are Untranslated in Dr. Stubbs' Select Charters from the Earliest Times to the Conclusion of Edward the First's Reign, page 121
3. To speed up.
   • The greater the danger is, it ought to be so far from being a remora, as to put spurs to our speedy resolutions in this great affair.1763, Debates of the House of Commons from 1667 to 1694, page 18