on the heels of
on the heels of (idiom / prepositional phrase)
/ɒn ðə hiːlz əv/
Meanings
- Happening soon after something else.
- Closely following an event or development.
- As a result of or in reaction to something.
Synonyms: immediately after; following; directly after; subsequent to; in the wake of.
Example Sentences
- The festival was organized on the heels of the city’s anniversary celebration.
- A stock market crash occurred on the heels of political instability.
- The new law was introduced on the heels of public protests.
Origin and History
Linguistic Roots and Literal Origin
The word “heel” has very old roots in English. Early forms of the expression “at someone’s heels” appear in Old and Middle English, where it simply described being physically close behind another person. This literal image of footsteps and closeness laid the foundation for the later idiomatic sense.
Metaphorical Development from Pursuit to Succession
The figurative shift came from hunting and pursuit imagery. To be “on the heels of” someone suggested being in hot pursuit, tracking closely, or immediately following. Over time, the image expanded to cover events happening one right after another. Variants such as “hot on the heels of” made the sense even stronger, evoking the freshness of a trail or energetic pursuit.
Early Attestation in Manuscript Sources
One of the earliest recorded uses of the phrase appears in Anglo-American correspondence. In a letter dated 31 January 1796, the writer observed:
“This is treading as fast on the heels of G.B. as circumstances will permit.”
This shows the idiom already being used in a figurative sense at the close of the eighteenth century.
Early Printed Appearances in Books
A clear printed example appears in Edmund Bailey O’Callaghan’s History of New Netherland; or, New York under the Dutch (1848), which includes the sentence:
“In Holland, Van de Donck was still hot on the heels of Van Tienhoven.”
Additionally, the 1796 correspondence cited earlier was later published in collected volumes of letters during the nineteenth century, making the expression visible in print. By the mid-nineteenth century, “on the heels of” was well established in both American and British English.
Country of Origin
The phrase is rooted in English usage. Its earliest literal forms developed in England, but the earliest known modern idiomatic usage appears in American correspondence of the late eighteenth century. Thus, while the linguistic base is English, the idiomatic sense as we use it today first gained recorded presence in the United States.
Editorial Perspective on Earliest Usage
Older forms such as “at his heels” are found throughout medieval English, while the exact modern phrase “on the heels of” appears in records from the late eighteenth century. Printed works of the nineteenth century confirm its spread in written English. It is possible that even earlier instances may exist in newspapers or private manuscripts not yet uncovered.
Origin Summary
The expression “on the heels of” developed naturally from a literal image of walking at another’s heels to a figurative phrase for events that closely follow one another. Evidence shows it in American usage by 1796 and in print by 1848. Since then, it has remained a vivid idiom for immediacy and succession in English.
Variants
- hot on the heels of
- close on the heels of
- right on the heels of
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