great balls of fire
Expressing great surprise.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Great balls of fire, you surprised me!”
“Great balls of fire, I cannot believe you actually finished that project on time.”
“Great balls of fire, the sudden announcement of the company merger left the entire boardroom in a state of total shock.”
- 01
a great deal
Very much; to a great extent; a lot; lots.
- 02
add fuel to the fire
To worsen a conflict between people; to inflame an already tense situation.
- 03
ball hog
In team sports, a player who keeps the ball to themselves, rather than passing it.
- 04
ball of fire
A person who is especially active, ambitious, hard-working, or high-achieving.
- 05
ball of malt
A glass of whiskey.
- 06
balls of steel
Courage, audacity.
- 07
balls to the wall
With maximum effort or commitment.
- 08
bust one's balls
To work very hard; to put in a lot of effort.
Last updated August 10, 2026