find another gear

present singular third person finds another gear · participle present finding another gear · participle past found another gear · past found another gear · alternative find a new gear

1. idiomatichobbiesTo suddenly achieve an extra burst of athletic performance, especially after a sustained period of competitive exertion.

   Swimmers talk about finding another gear when they need it.

   2012 July 30, Mark Sappenfield, “Ryan Lochte finishes fourth as other swimmers steal the Olympic show”, in Christian Science Monitor, retrieved 24 Oct 2015

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   But the Devils found another gear in the third period and found the energy that had been lacking throughout a sluggish second period.

   1999 March 26, Tarik El-Bashir, “Hockey: The Devils Tighten Their Grip On First”, in New York Times, retrieved 24 Oct 2015

   [I]f the 24-year-old Djokovic wants to replicate or even surpass his 2011 results, he'll have to keep finding another gear.

   2012 January 29, Courtney Nguyen, “Challenged again, Novak Djokovic finds another gear in Australian Open final”, in Sports Illustrated, retrieved 24 Oct 2015

   Trailing Kostelic by .017 seconds after her first run, Paerson found another gear on her second trip down the deteriorating course to finish with a combined time of 1min 38.65sec—almost a half-second clear of her Croatian rival.

   2014 January 9, “Skiing: Paerson finds top gear to pip Kostelic”, in Independent, UK, retrieved 24 Oct 2015

2. broadlyidiomaticTo achieve enhanced performance.

   Management's ultimate goal is to become one of the world's top five automakers. That will require finding another gear.

   2001 July 8, Frank Gibney Jr., “Hyundai In High Gear”, in Time, retrieved 24 Oct 2015

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   It's amazing that after seven-plus seasons as one of the most consistently compelling shows on TV, NCIS still finds another gear with certain story arcs.

   2010 November 17, Steve Marsi, “NCIS Review: "Enemies Foreign"”, in TV Fanatic, retrieved 24 Oct 2015