balls to the wall

alternative balls-to-the-wall · alternative balls to the walls · alternative balls-to-the-walls

1. USidiomaticnot comparableslangWith maximum effort or commitment.

   “I always go balls to the wall,” founding Ape Gordon Goner tells Rolling Stone over Zoom.

   2021 November 1, Samantha Hissong, quoting Gordon Goner, “How Four NFT Novices Created a Billion-Dollar Ecosystem of Cartoon Apes”, in Rolling Stone

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   I told the staff...the day before the hurricane struck that I expected them to cut every piece of red tape, do everything they could, that it was balls to the wall, that I didn't want to hear anybody say that we couldn't do anything—to do everything they humanly could to respond.

   2006, Michael D. Brown, Testimony before the US Senate Homeland Security Committee

   “Asian women on-screen, especially in America and Hollywood, have been so sexualized and fetishized for the benefit of other people’s stories or jokes,” Ashley says. “And we’re like, ‘We’re gonna go balls to the wall, further than anyone’s gone with Asian women.’”

   2023 June 15, Kat Moon, “Ashley Park’s Main Character Energy From ‘Joy Ride’ Is Here To Stay: ‘I’m Treating Myself Like A Lead Now’”, in Women's Health

   Synonyms: all out

2. USidiomaticnot comparableslangFull throttle; (at) maximum speed.First known use since the 1960s