like greased lightning

Idioms  

1. Also, like a blue streak; like the wind; like blazes. Very fast indeed, as in He climbed that ladder like greased lightning, or She kept on talking like a blue streak, or The children ran like the wind when they heard there'd be free ice cream. The likening of speed to lightning dates from the 1500s, and grease was added in the early 1800s to further accentuate the idea of haste. The first variant, blue streak, also dates from the early 1800s and alludes to something resembling lightning. The wind in the second variant has been a metaphor for swiftness since ancient Roman times. The blazes in the last variant, first recorded in 1925, alludes to fire or lightning.

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Example Sentences

Her crochet hook was racing like greased lightning by then.

From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney

I went down it like greased lightning and came out at the bottom of it and once again I was on the floor.

From "The Witches" by Roald Dahl

He was a long-legged fellow, and could run like greased lightning.

From Lincoln's Yarns and Stories: a complete collection of the funny and witty anecdotes that made Lincoln famous as America's greatest story teller by McClure, Alexander K. (Alexander Kelly)

They're fine, weatherly craft, and with the wind abeam she ought to skip over the bar like greased lightning.

From The Fight for Constantinople A Story of the Gallipoli Peninsula by Westerman, Percy F. (Percy Francis)

They keep a guarded eye on you and allow you to get within a reasonable distance, but if you go an inch beyond that they are off like greased lightning.

From The Incomparable 29th and the "River Clyde" by Davidson, George

Related Words

• quick
• quickly
• rapidly
• soon
• swift
• swiftly