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pour on the coal

Speed up, as in They keep passing us so pour on the coal, Mom! or We can get this issue of the paper out on time if we pour on the coal. This slangy expression originated in aviation in the 1930s but must have been an allusion to the coal-burning engines of trains and ships, since aircraft were never so powered. It has since been transferred to other vehicles and other endeavors.

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Nearby words

  1. pour,
  2. pour cold water on,
  3. pour encourager les autres,
  4. pour le mérite,
  5. pour oil on troubled waters,
  6. pour out one's heart,
  7. pour point,
  8. pour test,
  9. pourboire,
  10. pouring
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.