turns of foot

Noun

turn of foot (plural turns of foot)

1. The ability to accelerate quickly.
   • So myth number one is that horses who finish fast in the final furlong are horses to follow because they possess a turn of foot.2004, Alan Potts, Against the Crowd, →ISBN, page 23
2. A burst of speed in a horse race.
   • A good deal of a horse's efforts at acceleration are dissipated by the surface. On grass, a turn of foot is a powerful weapon. On dirt or the All-weather it counts for very little.2002, Nick Mordin, Betting for a Living, →ISBN, page 51
3. (broadly) A burst of speed.
   • The final gear change is phenomenal. His turn of foot prodigious.2013, John Herbert, Marathon, →ISBN, page 24
4. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see turn, foot.
   • The lateral turn of foot not only is the result of complicated turning movements of thigh, shank, and foot in the propulsive period, but also provides conditions for the normal transport of the limb in front after its disconnection.1974, Vladimir Borisovich Sukhanov, General system of symmetrical locomotion of terrestrial vertebrates and some features of movement of lower tetrapods