in one's tracks
English
Prepositional phrase
- Suddenly; abruptly, right where one stands.
- to stop dead in one's tracks
- 2006 October 28, Mike Averis, “Bristol's heavy brigade knock back potent Brew for victory”, in The Guardian:
- The sinner of the first half cut in from the left wing, losing his marker to take a gentle pass from Ceri Sweeney and leave Bristol's Craig Morgan frozen in his tracks.
- 2010 July 11, Haroon Siddique, “Barefoot Bandit arrested in the Bahamas”, in The Guardian:
- After two years on the run from the US authorities the suspected thief known as the Barefoot Bandit has finally been stopped in his tracks.
- 2010 July 12, “Cyclist warns of road sign obstruction”, in The Guardian:
- Cyclist Anthony Robson found himself stopped in his tracks by this road sign.
- 2015, Erin Elliott, Mira's Last[1] (young adult fantasy), page 35:
- Galena turned to look at them, her face alight with the glow the Sword of Lumina provided. Her expression was dangerous. It would have stopped most creatures dead in their tracks, but not the earagos. However, that could have been the fact they had poor vision.
- 2019 April 10, qntm, “CASE HATE RED”, in There Is No Antimemetics Division, →ISBN, page 141:
- As he creeps towards the main road, someone, another occupied former human, pokes their head around the corner, then calls to others in the strange language, pointing him out. Wheeler stops in his tracks. In another moment, ten or eleven non-people are advancing on him from the road. Two of them are carrying something with them, a limp, badly broken human— a normal human, Wheeler realises with some shock, like him.
- 2025 June 2, Lizzy Goodman, quoting Shirley Manson, “Shirley Manson, the Unexpected Godmother of Rock”, in The New York Times[2], →ISSN:
- “Sept. 11th stopped all alternative female voices in their tracks, because when people get scared, they get conservative and what does a conservative society loathe? A dangerous woman,” she said.
Usage notes
- Very commonly found with stop.