leather-lunged

comparative more leather-lunged · superlative most leather-lunged · alternative leather lunged

1. idiomaticPossessing or characterized by robust lungs and a strong voice suitable for loud, sustained public speaking, shouting, wailing, singing, etc.

   Some make a story arc of their performances, like Clarkson, who grew over Season 1 from wallflower to leather-lunged sensation.

   2007 April 4, James Poniewozik, “Why American Idol Keeps Soaring”, in Time

   2 more examples

   He would like to know how she was getting along—and the baby, too. . . . It was a leather-lunged, red-faced, squirming little mite.

   1918, B. M. Bower, chapter 11, in Cabin Fever

   One of the notable effects of technical change has been the obsolescence of leather-lunged oratory of the William Jennings Bryan school, in favor of the "fireside chat" of Franklin Roosevelt; with electrical amplification, a speaker could use conversational style and still be understood in a large auditorium.

   1980, Raven I. McDavid Jr., American English: Essays, →ISBN, page 313

   Synonyms: stentorian, vociferous