on one's toes

on one's toes idiom
Alert, ready to act, as in Orchestra players must be on their toes all the time, so as not to miss an entrance. This metaphoric expression probably alludes to boxers or runners who must be on their toes in order to move or start quickly. It gained currency with Richard Rodgers' and Lorenz Hart's extremely popular musical, On Your Toes (1936). [Early 1900s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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