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Angliholic Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

pull back their toes//contract their toes

When geckos walk up walls, the angle of the hairs on their feet changes as they pull back their toes. In other words, the hairs are strong enough to hold the gecko to the wall, but it has no problem lifting its feet off.

HI,
Does "pull back their toes" in the above amount to 'contract their toes" or something else? Thanks.
  

Top answer

Angliholic: There is no good English verb to describe the microscopic scale of gecko walking. I have seen "peeling the adhesive hairs off the surface by lifting their toes at an angle", but that's a lot of words! So I think the author was doing the best he could with the limitations of our vocabulary.

— AlpheccaStars

  • Angliholic: There is no good English verb to describe the microscopic scale of gecko walking.
  • I have seen "peeling the adhesive hairs off the surface by lifting their toes at an angle", but that's a lot of words!
  • So I think the author was doing the best he could with the limitations of our vocabulary.
  • The scientific analysis of how geckos can run upside down on glass is in progress, and it is really fascinating.
  • Maybe if they make shoes with gecko hair technology, we will have a new verb - Let's go geckoing!
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1 Answers
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Angliholic:
There is no good English verb to describe the microscopic scale of gecko walking. I have seen "peeling the adhesive hairs off the surface by lifting their toes at an angle", but that's a lot of words! So I think the author was doing the best he could with the limitations of our vocabulary.
The scientific analysis of how geckos can run upside down on glass is in progress, and
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