What does the phrase “clay feet” mean? I can’t find it in any of my phrase dictionaries.
‘Feet of clay’ refers to a fault in something that might not be readily apparent. It comes from a passage in the book of Daniel where King Nebuchadnezzar dreams about a huge statue with feet made of clay. The feet are shattered by a rock, and the whole thing tumbles down.
TMR
The fact that somewhere a camera is secretly pointed right up the business end of a toilet
and somewhere else someone is hacking a password so we can see it for free is all the thanks we need.
– From http://www.oldmanmurray.com
Catch22 - you might want to add Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable to your list of phrase books. It’s over a century old, never been out of print, is a fun book to dip into for a minute or an hour, and it answers just this type of question:
“To have feet of clay. Said of someone hiherto held in high regard or in an important position who shows diasappointing weakness of character. The allusion is to Dan. ii, 31-45. The image of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream had a head of gold, breast and arms of silver, belly and thighs of brass, legs of iron and feet of iron and clay.”
and the stars o’erhead were dancing heel to toe