balls to the wall

短语

发音

AU

别名

balls-to-the-wall balls to the walls

释义与例句

adv.
  1. 1.

    With maximum effort or commitment.

    美国 习语 俚语
  2. 2.

    Full throttle; (at) maximum speed.

    美国 习语 俚语

词源

First attested in the 1960s in the context of aviation, in reference to ball-shaped grips on an aircraft's engine controls (typically throttle, prop pitch and fuel mixture). Pushing these "balls to the wall" would put the aircraft at maximum thrust. Analogous to pedal to the metal. Not related to the term balls-out, which refers to a ball governor on a steam engine. Neither balls-out nor balls to the wall is connected with the vulgar sense of balls (“testicles”) except via folk etymology.

来源：wiktionary