like a buzzsaw
- idiom
- US
:
como una sierra eléctrica
- She tackled the project like a buzzsaw, finishing ahead of schedule and impressing everyone with her efficiency.
Examples
-
The team worked like a buzzsaw during the final days before the deadline, ensuring that every detail was ready on time.
-
He moved through the crowded streets like a buzzsaw, not stopping for anything on his way to the meeting.
-
It's a vicious triangular dynamic that whirls like a buzzsaw, sometimes doing good works like providing us with wood, other times creating problems like carpenters with one thumb.
Blog text (21)
Synonyms
15
7.6
Very fast and energetic in a wild, uncontrolled way
8
8.2
Very quickly and with great energy
4
7.4
To do something with great energy and effort
1
5.9
A person who has a lot of energy and does not get tired
Something very fast or impressive
Antonyms
How Energetic
- US
8
3.0
24
3.5
129
2.1
∞
1.0
1
6.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
like + a + buzzsaw
The phrase uses an explicit simile marker 'like' plus a concrete image 'buzzsaw' (a fast, cutting machine), so the meaning—moving through tasks or obstacles relentlessly and forcefully—is a direct metaphorical extension of the constituents. This compositional simile pattern is transparent and cross-linguistically familiar, so a B1 learner who knows the words should be able to infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Like a buzzsaw comes from the image of a sharp buzzsaw blade that spins very fast and cuts through wood without stopping. So saying someone is like a buzzsaw means they get through tasks or problems 'quickly' and 'without stopping', using a lot of force.