Quiz: "leg" or "foot"?

The correct answer is: leg

“Our programme is giving women a leg up in their jobs.”

If you give someone a leg up, you help that person to be more successful. When you mean the phrase literally, you form a cradle with your hands and let someone step into it with one foot. You then support them so they can, for example, mount a horse or climb over a wall.

The Eleanor Foundation in Chicago aims to give women a leg up in their careers by offering them training and education. Research by the University of Chicago shows that many women with modest incomes find it hard to move up in their jobs. Supporting children and paying rent often leaves these women little or no money to invest in further training for themselves. "These are women who are working, playing by the rules and still not making a lot of gains," Joe Antolin, executive director of Heartland Human Care Services told the Chicago Tribune. His organization also supports working women, in this case by offering them financial literacy classes at work.

give someone a leg up = jmdm. auf die Beine helfen 

If you get a foot in the door, you have an opportunity to do something or you start a process that you hope will lead you to your goal.

"I got my foot in the door by doing an internship here while I was still at school. Now, I'm head of department."

get one's foot in the door = einen Fuß in die Tür bekommen

"I really put my foot in my mouth when I asked Jane about her job. She was fired last week."

put one's foot in one's mouth = ins Fettnäpfchen treten