flat-out

[flat-out]

adjective

Informal.

1. moving or working at top speed or with maximum effort; all-out.

   a flat-out effort by all contestants.

2. downright; thoroughgoing.

   Many of the paintings were flat-out forgeries.

Word History and Origins

Origin of flat-out¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Idioms and Phrases

In a direct manner, bluntly. For example, He told the true story flat out . [ Colloquial ; mid-1900s]

At top speed, as in She was running flat out to catch the train . [ Slang ; c. 1930]

Example Sentences

Her vocal delivery exuded fearlessness, individuality and a flat-out rejection of prior female role models, inspiring Madonna, Blondie, the Cars, the Clash, Sonic Youth and many other punk, new wave and alternative rockers.

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Over and over again, as she wrote in this opinion, they were just flat-out lying, from lower-level agents all the way up to the top.

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The result, he says, was a flat-out feeding frenzy.

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Bichette can flat-out hit, accumulating more than 175 hits in four of the last five seasons with above-average power.

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Despite having a loaded cast, the movie’s premise is reminiscent of a film like “God’s Not Dead,” a self-pitying Christian right propaganda film based on a flat-out false urban legend shared in email chains.

Read more on Salon