with a bullet
3
9.1
- idiom
- Jargon
:
con gran margen
- After their recent hit single, the band is now number one on the music charts with a bullet, showing rapid success.
- number one with a bullet
- one with a bullet
- charts with a bullet
Examples
-
On the Interpol Hit Parade, Wolfgang is number one with a bullet.
Fiction book (1992) -
Number one with a bullet.
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He was by far in a way, I mean with a bullet, the number one candidate to take this job.
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While crowdfunding does not yet have the web presence of some other services, it's headed up with a bullet.
Blog text (2) -
You're number one with a bullet on the six o'clock news.
Fiction book (1995) -
So in reality, this is Justin Roland, Co creator of Rick and Morty, the smash hit number one number one on Adult Swim with a bullet killing it.
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His latest album debuted at number one on the charts, with a bullet, indicating a surge in popularity.
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The new movie is performing exceptionally well, climbing to the top of the box office with a bullet.
Antonyms
How Fast
Surface Forms
Morphology
with + a + bullet
The meaning 'by a large margin/with rapidly increasing success' cannot be derived from the literal senses of 'with', 'a', and 'bullet' (which suggest a projectile or typographic mark). This usage is an idiomatic, chart-specific convention (a bullet mark indicating rapid ascent) that is not transparently compositional or predictably inferable by a B1 learner.
Etymology
With a bullet comes from old music and sales charts where chart makers put a small dot, a bullet, beside songs that were moving up the list very fast. So saying something went with a bullet means it shot to the top quickly or won 'by a large margin'.