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Strain at the leash

Meaning

Be enthusiastic to free oneself from the restrictions that bar one's progress.

Origin

The allusion is, of course, to a dog held on a lead and straining to go faster. Sir Walter Scott was the first to use it in literature. He included the expression in The Talisman, 1825:

"King Richard looked... at the Nubian and his dog; but the former moved not, nor did the latter strain at the leash."

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The meaning and origin of the expression: Strain at the leash

Strain at the leash

Meaning

Origin