great guns

American  

adverb

1. Informal.  in a relentlessly energetic or successful manner.

   The new president has the company going great guns.

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interjection

1. (used as an expression of surprise, astonishment, etc.)

great guns Idioms  

1. Very energetically or successfully. This colloquial expression usually occurs in the phrase go great guns , as in They're going great guns with those drawings . The expression comes from British naval slang of the late 1700s, when blowing great guns meant a violent gale. Harry Truman used the term in Dear Bess (1945): “We have been going great guns in the last day or two.”

2. great gun . Also big gun . An important person, as in All the great guns came to the reception . This usage is heard less often today. [ Slang ; early 1800s] Also see big cheese .

3. Great guns ! An expletive expressing surprise or astonishment, as in Great guns! You're not leaving now? [Late 1800s]

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Etymology

Origin of great guns

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

"It's all been going great guns and we've all been doing lots of publicity and interviews and writing articles for the papers and stuff, all at the behest of the Agatha Christie estate," McDermid told the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

From BBC

“Japan Inc.” was going great guns.

From New York Times

Again: we’re doing great guns here when it comes to buzzword bingo, but explanations of what Napster’s future business model might actually be are thin on the ground.

From The Verge

The vaccine program went great guns after some hiccups, and the end of the covid crisis was in sight — or so we thought until vaccine resistance coupled with the delta variant led to new surges of infection.

From Washington Post

The O’Brian books make one feel the roll and pitch of the frigate and the roar of the “great guns,” and also the loneliness and despair of sitting for days in a damp and smelly French prison or the boredom of stodgy British culture and class.

From New York Times