quick on the draw

Idioms  

1. Also, quick on the trigger. Rapid in acting or reacting, as in You have to be quick on the draw if you want to find low-rent housing here, or Bruce was quick on the trigger when it came to answering questions. The first expression came from the American West's gunslingers and was broadened to mean “a quick reaction” in the first half of the 1900s. The variant originated about 1800.

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Example Sentences

Now, none of this means a sustained win for Epic; Google will be quick on the draw for an appeal, and before we even get to that part, we have yet to find out what specific terms the district court will impose on Google as a result of this ruling.

From Slate

“She was quick on the draw. She would take these sort of ordinary questions and launch into sort of very funny, very unexpected sort of spiels about whatever the topic at hand was,” said Bennett Madison, another former PRN phone psychic interviewed in the documentary.

From Los Angeles Times

Some great deals where you don’t have to be quick on the draw:

From Seattle Times

Users will see a button to edit a tweet, but you’ve got to be quick on the draw: The function expires 30 minutes after the tweet is sent.

From New York Times

Which is why his important thumbs shouldn’t always be so quick on the draw.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• athletic
• buoyant
• energetic
• frisky
• limber
• lithe
• lively
• quick
• rapid
• sharp
• spirited
• sprightly
• supple