What is "to beat the dust"

Beat \Beat\ (b[=e]t), v. t. [imp. Beat; p. p. Beat, Beaten; p. pr. & vb. n. Beating.] [OE. beaten, beten, AS. be['a]tan; akin to Icel. bauta, OHG. b[=o]zan. Cf. 1st Butt, Button.]

1. To strike repeatedly; to lay repeated blows upon; as, to beat one's breast; to beat iron so as to shape it; to beat grain, in order to force out the seeds; to beat eggs and sugar; to beat a drum.

   Thou shalt beat some of it [spices] very small.
   --Ex. xxx. 36.

   They did beat the gold into thin plates.
   --Ex. xxxix. 3.

2. To punish by blows; to thrash.

3. To scour or range over in hunting, accompanied with the noise made by striking bushes, etc., for the purpose of rousing game.

   To beat the woods, and rouse the bounding prey.
   --Prior.

4. To dash against, or strike, as with water or wind.

   A frozen continent . . . beat with perpetual storms.
   --Milton.

5. To tread, as a path.

   Pass awful gulfs, and beat my painful way.
   --Blackmore.

6. To overcome in a battle, contest, strife, race, game, etc.; to vanquish, defeat, or conquer; to surpass or be superior to.

   He beat them in a bloody battle.
   --Prescott.

   For loveliness, it would be hard to beat that.
   --M. Arnold.

7. To cheat; to chouse; to swindle; to defraud; -- often with out. [Colloq.]

8. To exercise severely; to perplex; to trouble.

   Why should any one . . . beat his head about the Latin grammar who does not intend to be a critic?
   --Locke.

9. (Mil.) To give the signal for, by beat of drum; to sound by beat of drum; as, to beat an alarm, a charge, a parley, a retreat; to beat the general, the reveille, the tattoo. See Alarm, Charge, Parley, etc.

10. to baffle or stump; to defy the comprehension of (a person); as, it beats me why he would do that.

11. to evade, avoid, or escape (blame, taxes, punishment); as, to beat the rap (be acquitted); to beat the sales tax by buying out of state. To beat down, to haggle with (any one) to secure a lower price; to force down. [Colloq.] To beat into, to teach or instill, by repetition. To beat off, to repel or drive back. To beat out, to extend by hammering. To beat out of a thing, to cause to relinquish it, or give it up. ``Nor can anything beat their posterity out of it to this day.'' --South. To beat the dust. (Man.)

    1. To take in too little ground with the fore legs, as a horse.

    2. To perform curvets too precipitately or too low.

       To beat the hoof, to walk; to go on foot.

       To beat the wing, to flutter; to move with fluttering agitation.

       To beat time, to measure or regulate time in music by the motion of the hand or foot.

       To beat up, to attack suddenly; to alarm or disturb; as, to beat up an enemy's quarters.

       Syn: To strike; pound; bang; buffet; maul; drub; thump; baste; thwack; thrash; pommel; cudgel; belabor; conquer; defeat; vanquish; overcome.