E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Footing.
He is on good footing with the world. He stands well with the world. This is a French phrase, Être sur un grand pied dans le monde. “Grand pied” means “large foot,” and the allusion is to the time of Henry VIII., when the rank of a man was designated by the size of his shoe—the higher the rank the larger the shoe. The proverb would be more correctly rendered, “He has a large foot in society.”
1
To pay your footing. To give money for drink when you first enter on a trade. Entry money for being allowed to put your foot in the premises occupied by fellow-craftsmen. This word is called foot-ale by ancient writers. (See GARNISH.)
