Meaning of Idiom ‘Put One’s Best Foot Forward’
To put your best food forward is to do your best or present yourself in the best possible way; to make the best impression you can.
Examples Of Use
“If you want this promotion you’re going to have to put your best food forward. There are three other people up for the job.”
“David put his best foot forward during the date, but Dannielle didn’t seem interested in going out with him again.”
“You can’t control what other people do. You just have to put your best foot forward and hope that it pays off.”
Origin
This very old idiom, existing in some form since the 1500s, has an uncertain origin.
An older variant of the idiom was ‘best foot foremost.’
It does appear that the expression once referred to running or walking as quickly as possible but how it acquired its present meaning is unknown.
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