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Glite Dictionary
hell-for-leather

hell-for-leather

1 9.0
As fast as possible
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : a toda velocidad
  • Most players tear hell for leather straight to the cap and then sit there until the next cap-raising expansion arrives.
  • ran hell-for-leather
  • went hell-for-leather

So they had huge, you know, turbine, airport sized jumbo jet like wind machines that were blowing, you know, hell for leather.

Examples

  • As the storm approached, we packed up our campsite and left hell-for-leather to avoid getting caught in the rain.

  • As soon as the latch clicked, I ran hell for leather, straight into the kitchen, and then I cut left for the bathroom.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • But I used to race with Pa, hell for leather on the roads, almost winning sometimes.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Last, you go hell-for-leather for the best deal.

    Blog text (3)

  • Pursued by guards, Amsterdam runs hell-for-leather for a long vaulted bridge.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Without another word, he whirled around, tail held high, and took off with hooves flying, hell-for-leather after that Eastern gal.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • And galloping out of the fog come d'Artagnan and the three Musketeers, riding hell-for-leather.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • With the race starting soon, the horse galloped hell-for-leather towards the finish line.

  • The children ran hell-for-leather to catch the ice cream truck before it drove away.

Synonyms

like hell
vshell-for-leather
  • NSFW
75 7.9

Happening very quickly, with great effort or very strongly

refers specifically to full speed rather than general strong intensity
on the double
vshell-for-leather
  • Informal
27 3.7

Very quickly and without delay

means sustained full speed rather than just immediate action
full throttle
vshell-for-leather
12 5.8

A state of moving at the highest speed and with the most effort

means full speed without stressing extra intensity
flat out
vshell-for-leather
  • Informal
4 4.3

To do something as fast and as hard as possible

focuses only on pure top speed rather than effort
in high gear
vshell-for-leather
4 4.4

Working very fast and doing everything needed

means raw top speed rather than efficient steady progress
post-haste
vshell-for-leather
  • Formal
3 7.4

As quickly as possible

means pure full speed without added urgency
double quick
vshell-for-leather
  • Informal
4.1

Very fast, without delay

demands going as fast as physically possible rather than merely very fast

Antonyms

slowly
∞ 1.0

At a low speed without hurrying

How Fast

top speed
20 3.7
hell-for-leather
  • Informal
1 9.0
flat out
  • Informal
4 4.3
fast
∞ 1.0
quickly
∞ 1.0
slowly
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

hell-for-leather positive

Morphology

hell-for-leather = hell + leather (opaque) = for + hell + leather

The phrase is idiomatic and its meaning 'at full speed' cannot be deduced from the literal meanings of 'hell', 'for', and 'leather'. [Postprocessing: moved 'for' from base_words to prefix]

Etymology

The phrase hell-for-leather probably began as a picture of someone urging a horse to go 'like hell' until the leather saddle nearly tears. So, hell-for-leather means 'as fast as possible'.