In Part II, we took a look at the German phrases mit einem Fuß im, am Fuß des, einen Fuß in etwas reinkriegen, auf falschem Fuß, and auf die Füße treten. In this lesson, the final Part III about feet expressions, let's check out some other German phrases using der Fuß.
 

Und das war der Moment, wo wir Angst bekamen, kalte Füße.

And that was the moment where we got scared, cold feet.

Caption 18, TEDx Der Supermarkt der Zukunft

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The idiom kalte Füße bekommen (to get cold feet) is the same as the English expression. It means, as the video implies, "to become afraid."

Ich nehme mein Herz und leg's dir zu Füßen.

I'll take my heart and lay it at your feet.

Caption 3, Deutsche Musik: Chris und Croissant

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Die Welt liegt uns zu Füßen.

The world lies at our feet.

Caption 21, Heino: Neue Volkslieder

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The phrase etwas zu Füßen legen means "to give something to somebody." Compare this to die Welt zu Füßen legen: To "have the world at your feet" means that you have many opportunities open to you, perhaps relating to career improvements.

Da können Sie sich dann hinsetzen und ganz entspannt die Füße hochlegen.

Then you can kick back and put your feet up in total relaxation.

Captions 45-46, extra 3: Das ehrliche Reisebüro

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The expression die Füße hochlegen, or "to put your feet up," may be literally just that, but it also is a general expression meaning "to rest."

Was ich absolut nicht gebrauchen kann, ist jemand, der alles, was mir etwas bedeutet, mit Füßen tritt.

What I absolutely don't need is someone who stomps on everything that means something to me.

Captions 5-6, Küss mich, Frosch: Sei kein Frosch

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Mit Füßen treten literally means "to kick with your feet " or "to step on something with your feet." But its figurative meaning is that somebody treating you or something of yours disrespectfully.

Und das war, bevor Sie mir diesen Quotenleichnam vor die Füße geworfen haben.

And that was before you threw that cadaver of a quota down at my feet.

Captions 53-54, Lerchenberg: Die Zombieklinik

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If somebody throws something at your feet (vor die Füße werfen), it means they've "burdened you with a responsibility."

Further Learning
Review Part I and Part II of the All About Feet series and see if you remember the meaning of the German phrases from these two previous lessons. If you want to dive deeper into the topic, read the article Redewendungen mit Fuß / Füße in German. You can also search for other videos using the search words Fuß, Füße, and Füßen on Yabla German to get a better feel for the contexts in which they are used.

English has quite a few idioms using the word "foot," and the German language also "puts its best foot forward" in this regard!

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Some German foot expressions are very similar to English:

Ich nehm' mein Herz und leg's dir zu Füßen.

I'll take my heart and lay it at your feet.

Caption 3, Deutsche Musik - Chris und Croissant

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Sometimes, a German expression is close to English, but with a spin of its own:

Er war von Kopf bis Fuß grün angezogen.

He was dressed in green from head to foot [idiom: completely].

Caption 23, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Ein Topf voll Gold

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The above expression is very similar, of course, to the English "from head to toe." Most German idiomatic expressions with the word Fuß are quite different, however:

Und die Besucher müssen wirklich gut zu Fuß sein.

And the visitors must be really good to foot [idiom: agile].

Captions 18-19, Internationale Automobilausstellung - IAA in Frankfurt öffnet die Pforten

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The English foot idiom that comes closest is "light on their feet." At Yabla, we translate idioms literally (word for word), and then add a dictionary-style definition for clarity.

Be careful you don't "put your foot in it" though, as some expressions sound similar to English, but have a completely different meaning:

Was Henne gesagt hat, hat ja eigentlich auch Hand und Fuß.

But I think what Henne has said also actually has a hand and a foot [idiom: makes sense].

Caption 48, Luxuslärm - Interview

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If you recall the English saying "to wait on someone hand and foot," you might falsely interpret the German to mean that Henne was being servile, when in fact she was making sense!

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Further Learning
Learn some more expressions about other parts of the body here, and go to Yabla German and see how the word Fuß is used in different contexts.