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

Mr Haller said that at the beginning of last year "manufacturing was going great guns" but after an expected pause around the general election, activity has failed to pick up.

From BBC • Jan. 16, 2025

“Things are going great guns and we’re having so much fun,” MacLachlan says.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 10, 2024

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 • May 18, 2022

Weiner: Best-case scenario is that markets believe that economic prospects are good, and they continue to go great guns, as they have been in the past few months.

From Salon • Sep. 2, 2018

The war years were wet years, and there were many people who blamed the strange intransigent weather on the firing of the great guns in France.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck