like gangbusters

Slang Dictionary

like gangbusters definition


  1. mod.
    with great excitement and fury. (From the phrase Come on like gangbusters, a radio show that came on with lots of sirens and gunshots.) : She works like gangbusters and gets the job done.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

like gangbusters

Energetically, forcefully, loudly. For example, This is a soft passagethe horns shouldn't come in like gangbusters. This expression alludes to a popular radio series entitled Gangbusters, which featured explosive sound effects, such as gunfire and sirens, at the beginning of each episode. [Slang; late 1930s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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