Idiom
put the pedal to the metal
Meaning
To press the gas pedal to the maximum extent.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“Put the pedal to the metal to arrive on time.”
“We were running late for the flight, so he put the pedal to the metal to reach the airport.”
“Realizing the deadline was only minutes away, the driver put the pedal to the metal to navigate the empty highway before the clock struck twelve.”
Examples
simple
“Put the pedal to the metal to arrive on time.”
contextual
“We were running late for the flight, so he put the pedal to the metal to reach the airport.”
complex
“Realizing the deadline was only minutes away, the driver put the pedal to the metal to navigate the empty highway before the clock struck twelve.”
Origin
Attested from approximately 1976, the phrase originated in the context of car racing. It describes the physical act of depressing the accelerator pedal until it meets the metal floorboard of the vehicle.
Key words
Related idioms
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