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Put your best foot forward
Meaning
Embark on a journey or task with purpose and gusto.
Origin
First recorded in 1613 from Sir Thomas Overbury:
"Hee is still setting the best foot forward."
The Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings dates "Always put your best foot forward" to 1495, but provides no supporting evidence for that.
'Put your best foot forward' is rather an odd saying as it implies you have three or more feet. Cows may be able to put their best foot forward but 'put your better foot forward' would make more sense for humans. Shakespeare used a form of that expression in King John:
"Nay, but make haste; the better foot before."
See other phrases and sayings from Shakespeare.
See also: the List of Proverbs.