Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

have a bone in one's leg

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.01 in modern English

Syllables
have a bone in one's -leg
IPA
27
Scrabble Score
18
Letters
2
Syllables
11
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

Used as a fatuous excuse to avoid doing something.

British usage; Informal

Example Sentences

Usage

Inflected Forms

has a bone in one's leg (present, singular) having a bone in one's leg (participle, present) had a bone in one's leg (participle, past) had a bone in one's leg (past)

Questions

What does have a bone in one's leg mean?
Used as a fatuous excuse to avoid doing something.

How to pronounce have a bone in one's leg

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “have a bone in one's leg”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “have a bone in one's leg”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “have a bone in one's leg” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.