the.com/stride
the gap between two footfalls that quietly measures how far you'll go
means a long, confident step in walking or running — or, figuratively, a notable advance in progress.
from From Old English 'strīdan,' meaning to mount or straddle, and related to Old High German and Middle Dutch words for striding and quarreling. The old sense of 'straddle' lingers in the way a stride spreads the legs wide — the same root that lets you 'bestride' a horse. The modern meaning of forward progress ('great strides') is a later, figurative bloom from the literal long step.
- average length
- roughly 2.5 feet per walking step
- runners' gold
- elite sprinters cover 8 feet per stride
- idiom origin
- hitting your stride comes from horse gaits
- unconscious work
- your gait is as unique as a fingerprint
charlie chaplin's walking cane — iconic prop used throughout his films (1914-1952) that defined his distinctive bowlegged shuffle
usain bolt's 100m technique — world record holder who won gold in beijing 2008 with distinctive long powerful strides
grace jones' catwalk walk — avant-garde performer known for her exaggerated geometric stride in 1970s-80s fashion shows