fall all over oneself

Idioms and Phrases

Also, fall over backwards . Make an inordinate effort to do something, try very hard or eagerly. For example, They fell all over themselves to be helpful, but only got in the way , or She fell over backwards trying to please her boss, but it got her nowhere . The first of these hyperbolic expressions dates from the late 1800s, the second from the mid-1900s.