get the lead out

1. Also,. Hurry up, move faster. For example, Get the lead out of your pants, kids, or we'll be late, or, even more figuratively, Arthur is the slowest talker—he can't seem to get the lead out and make his point. This expression implies that lead, the heaviest of the base metals, is preventing one from moving. [Slang; first half of 1900s]

Example Sentences

“It’s far past time to get the lead out once and for all,″ Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan said Wednesday. “This is a matter of public health, a matter of environmental justice, and a matter of basic human rights.”

Read more on Seattle Times

The Get the Lead Out assessment by the California Public Interest Research Group gave the state a “C” grade this year for its “middling” policies to protect kids from lead-contaminated drinking water at schools.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Currently, Lopez is working with the Get the Lead Out research project with Occidental College and the Keck School of Medicine at USC.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In April, two identical bipartisan bills — the Get the Lead Out of Assisted Housing Act of 2022 — were introduced and stalled in the Senate and the House.

Read more on Washington Post

Congress should take the proposed $75 billion from the Build Back Better Act to fund and pass the Get the Lead Out of Assisted Housing Act to protect the health of our children.

Read more on Washington Post