put the hammer down
To drive quickly; to step on the accelerator.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“He put the hammer down to pass the slow truck.”
“When the light turned green, she put the hammer down to merge safely onto the highway.”
“Realizing they were running late for the flight, he put the hammer down and pushed the car to its absolute limit.”
- 01
bring down the hammer
To treat very harshly.
- 02
bring to the hammer
To put up for sale by auction.
- 03
hammer and tongs
In a manner indicating seriousness of intent and capability of harm.
- 04
hammer away
To continue discussing or trying to solve.
- 05
hammer home
To repeatedly or continually emphasize (an opinion or idea) until or so that a person or group of people understands it.
- 06
lipstick on a pig
To make superficial or cosmetic changes to something in a doomed attempt to disguise its fundamental flaws.
- 07
nail the hammer on the head
Nonstandard form of hit the nail on the head.
- 08
not to put too fine a point on it
Used to apologize for a possibly impolite statement one is making; to put it bluntly; to express it in plain terms.
Last updated August 10, 2026