show one's heels

Idioms and Phrases

Also, show a clean pair of heels . Run away, flee, as in He wanted to ask her out but she showed her heels before he had a chance , or As soon as the burglar alarm went off, the housebreaker showed a clean pair of heels . The backs of one's heels are exactly what is seen when one is running away, but the allusion of clean is a bit puzzling, unless it is meant in the colloquial sense of “thorough,” as in a clean getaway . [First half of 1500s]