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

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

Her crochet hook was racing like greased lightning by then.

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

“Should the breeze increase, she will walk away from us like greased lightning, as the Yankees say,” observed Adair.

From The Three Commanders by Dugdale, Thomas Cantrell

"And streaking it like greased lightning," added Whopper.

From Guns and Snowshoes Or, the Winter Outing of the Young Hunters by Bonehill, Ralph

It is exciting sport for the mink is like "greased lightning" in his movements, and if given the least chance will outwit both dog and man and escape.

From Mink Trapping A Book of Instruction Giving Many Methods of Trapping—A Valuable Book for Trappers. by Harding, A. R. (Arthur Robert)

Related Words

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