the ability to endure or sustain performance for meaningful periods of time, or to accomplish a desired objective; the term itself is neutral and can be used to describe something positive (“That old promotional campaign really has legs, it’s been boosting sales for the past three quarters) or negative (“We’re going to have to close out last year’s model, it just doesn’t have the legs”); perhaps from association with horse racing or athletics, in which the ability to maintain speed despite getting tired towards the end of a longer race was associated metonymically with the legs themselves
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