A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

run someone into the ground • run someone to
ground
run someone into the ground —(coll.) 
1
. win over a person;
defeat smb. completely: We lost the game today, but tomorrow
we’ll run them into the ground. 2. make smb. work continu-
ously very hard so that the person becomes completely
exhausted: Well-trained horses had been starved to death or
run into the ground.
run someone to ground —track down and eventually find a
person, especially for arrest or punishment: The prisoner was
finally run to ground some place in Alabama, hungry and
exhausted.
run someone off his feet • walk someone off his
feet
run someone off his feet—
1
. (Sport) wear out an opponent
(showing greater stamina and vigor): Now, at the age of 5
1
,
John ran me off my feet in a cross-country run. 2. (also: run
someone off his legs) exhaust a person by keeping him constantly
busy: She positively adored running me off my feet. She would
run after two hares
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sit at the dinner table relaxing while I ran about, sweat drip-
ping from my brow…
walk someone off his feet—tire a person very much with long
walking: My mother, in spite of her age, is so healthy that she
can still walk me off my feet.
run someone round • run someone round in
 circles
run someone round —
1
. drive smb. to a place: You have to
go into one of Heathrow’s terminals and hire a car, they will
run you round to the hire car places. 2. (coll.) perform the
duties of a servant for a person: Don’t expect me to run you
round for the rest of your life!
run someone round in circles —(also: give someone a run -
around) deliberately withhold information, etc. from a person,
sending him to other places to get it: I spent a long time speak-
ing to various representatives who just run me round in cir-
cles.
See also: go around someone / run circles around someone.