shanks' nag

Meaning

Noun

• Transportation by foot. To "take a shanks' nag" means using one's own legs to walk.

Origin

• Traced back to shanks-nag, 1758; The expression -- believed to be Scottish in origin (i.e. shanks-naig 1774), refers to the use of shank to refer to the part of the human leg between the knee and ankle.