walking

See Also: AWKWARDNESS, CAUTION, MOVEMENT, RUNNING

1. As fond of long walks as hairdressers are of fishing —Colette See Also: PLEASURE
2. As she walked she lifted her knees high, her feet far out in front of her, like a drum majorette on parade —Nancy Huddleston Packer
3. A curiously modest gait, like a preoccupied steer —Cynthia Ozick
4. A heavy man who walked as though he was still a lean one —Pat Conroy

   See Also: FATNESS

5. His feet strike at the trembling earth like a bailiff pounding a door with an iron bar —Angela Carter
6. His stride was a sort of ambulatory Rorschach test. One could project anything one fancied into it —James Morrow
7. His stride was light and long, like that of a man on the moon —Mark Helprin
8. Light rapid steps … like the hops of a bird —Paul Horgan
9. The men walked like scissors; the women trod like cats —Katherine Mansfield
10. My steps became extravagantly buoyant, like those of a high-wire artist walking on a hidden trampoline —Robert Traver
11. Paced [from room to room] … like a marathon runner cooling down —Gerald A. Kersh
12. Paced the room like proctors at a college board examination —Scott Spencer
13. Picked his way as if he were walking on an iceberg —Peggy Bennett
14. A shambling gait like a trained bear —William Faulkner
15. Stalked over … like a traffic cop —James Thurber
16. Step as light as summer air —John Greenleaf Whittier

    A popular variation: “Trod as lightly as if he were walking on air.”

17. Stiffly, like a man walking the trunk of a tree that bridges a chasm, he began to walk —Anon
18. Strut like a crow in a gutter —John Ray’s Proverbs
19. Strut like a fighting cock —George Garrett
20. Struts like a bandit —Diane Ackerman
21. Strutting … like an Olympic shot putter —T. Coraghessan Boyle
22. (I still have) a trotting bounce to my walk, like a middle-aged coyote who lopes along avoiding the cougars and hedgehogs, though still feeling quite capable of snapping up rabbits and fawns —Edward Hoagland
23. Unsteady but purposeful walk, as if she were on a wheel that misguided her —Eudora Welty
24. Up and down he went, like a sailor with a limp —Wright Morris
25. Walked as a man might show off a garden, stopping here and there to pluck a flower —Lawrence Durrell
26. Walked as if a puppet master dangled her from a set of strings —Jay Parini
27. Walked as if he were completely alone, like an abdicated king —Beryl Markham
28. Walked high on his feet, like his shoes were hurting him —Donald McCaig
29. Walked like a man with a pain in his gut —William H. Hallhan
30. Walked like two snakes —Maeve Brennan
31. Walked neither fast nor slow, like a man going to work at a job he didn’t enjoy —Harold Adams
32. Walked sedately, as though he were being watched —Helen Hudson
33. Walked very quickly, moving his arms as he walked like a tall thin bird flapping its wings —Jean Rhys
34. Walk … like an invalid just liberated from the sedentary months of his sickbed —Frederick Exley
35. Walking sedately back and forth, like a plump abbot who has just found exquisite confirmation of his long-cherished view of paradise —Robert Traver
36. Walks like a stately yacht listing disconcertingly to starboard —Frank Rich, about Robert Mitchum’s performance in television mini-series, New York Times, 1986
37. Walk slowly, like one accustomed to be alone —Karl Shapiro
38. Walk together, like prisoners out for exercise —W. D. Snodgrass
39. Wandering around like a tit in a trance —Carolyn Slaughter
40. When he walks, he moves like an engine —William Shakespeare
41. With those long strides he looks like an antelope when he runs —Gary Thorn