A while ago, I think I observed a possible origin for the expression, "high-tailing it out of here," meaning getting out really quickly. During my morning walk, a skunk jumped out the bushes but fortunately ignored me. It was running from a coyote would be my guess--but it ran with its tail more elevated than normal, though not as elevated as if it were going to spray. Apparently, some animals need to raise their tails to reach their maximum velocity.
Irrelevant to sayings, but just a little fun fact not worth starting a separate thread for, apparently, possums stand on their hind legs if they need to get a better view. I saw that just a couple days ago for the first time. (Of course, we already know where the expression, "Playing possum," came from. I've seen that, too.)
