shake leg

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English:

shake

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leg

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Malay:

goyang kaki

expand for details Detailed etymology

definitions

verb

  1. (idiom) to sit around doing nothing; to while away the time; to skive around; to idle and relax while watching others do the work

    2. Daddy worked a nine-to-five job in the HR department of an SME, making a large enough monthly income that his wife could "stay home, shake leg and be a tai tai" and still put the Choo family sitting squarely in the middle class.

    — 2022, Ng Ziqin. Every School a Good School. Epigram Books. ISBN: 9789814984720

    Shouted for everyone to hear, 'Ah Siah, no need for you to come out and work. Why don't stay home and shake leg.'

    — 1997, Kiat Wee. Eat Company - Sleep Bunk Berth: a New Novel. Landmark Books. ISBN: 9789813065116. p.58


usage notes

Means the complete opposite of the similar idiom in English, shake a leg ("to get to work; to be productive; to start doing something useful").


related:

khiao kha yo lam pa jiak pa bo sai pang jiak zua jiak liao bee eye power tuang lan si eat soft rice eat slipper rice sell grapes nua eng

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