After he became manager, people were suddenly falling over themselves to help him.
What's the literal meaning of 'fall over oneself'?
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3They were literally tripping over each other in the mad rush to get somewhere and do something. As per this usage chart, we're not so likely to use this idiomatic expression with a singular subject, because it's easier to imagine tripping over someone else's feet than your own. But falling over himself [to do something] does occur.– FumbleFingersCommented Dec 27, 2022 at 16:08
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The literal meaning can be obtained by looking up "fall" and "over" in a dictionary.– Stuart FCommented Jul 1 at 13:17
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2 Answers
here is the meaning= to be very eager to do something, especially something you do not usually do: People were falling over themselves to help her.
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The literal meaning invokes the image of a dense crowd eagerly rushing forward and falling over those who have been pushed to the ground.
