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

See Examples For:

like greased lightning

Her crochet hook was racing like greased lightning by then.

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

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

"Yes, and as soon as I saw what It meant, I gave the alarm; but the devil disappeared like greased lightning."

From Jack Harkaway and His Son's Escape from the Brigand's of Greece by Hemyng, Bracebridge

"I noticed that those that didn't have cayenne pepper on them were white hot and came like greased lightning," laughed McCarthy.

From Jimmy Kirkland and the Plot for a Pennant by Fullerton, Hugh S.

Wow! say, did you notice me acoming down that tree outside like greased lightning?

From The Boy Scouts on Sturgeon Island or Marooned Among the Game-fish Poachers by Carter, Herbert

Related Words

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