cool (one's) heels
To wait, sometimes so that one becomes calmer or more composed. You need to cool your heels for a minute and stop yelling at the staff—they didn't do anything wrong. We were excited, but we had to cool our heels when the release date for the new game got pushed back.
cool one's heels
Fig. to wait (for someone); to wait for something to happen. I spent an hour cooling my heels in the waiting room while the doctor saw other patients. All right, if you can't behave properly, just sit down here and cool your heels until I call you.
cool one's heels
Wait or be kept waiting, as in I've been cooling my heels in the doctor's waiting room for at least an hour. This term originally meant to cool one's feet when they become hot from walking, and began to be used ironically for being forced to rest (or wait) in the early 1600s.
cool your heels
be kept waiting. A British variant of this is kick your heels .
ˌcool your ˈheels
(informal) be kept waiting: The bank manager had asked to see her at four o’clock but she had to sit cooling her heels for almost 45 minutes. cool (one's) heels
Informal To wait or be kept waiting.