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balls-out

English

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balls-out

Where it comes from

Usually said to be from the maximum-speed state of a ball governor, whose balls are swung out to the near-horizontal position. Neither balls-out nor balls to the wall is connected with the vulgar sense of balls (“testicles”) except connotationally via folk etymology. (In that vein of apparent vulgar innuendo, see also rock out with one's cock out.)

adjective

  1. US, idiomatic, not comparable, slang Extreme; extremely great. He's making a balls-out run for Motor City by nightfall.

adverb

  1. not comparable Descriptive of the use of a centrifugal governor at maximum speed, corresponding to full throttle.
  2. US, idiomatic, not comparable, slang With great abandon.
  3. US, idiomatic, not comparable, slang At the fastest possible speed.

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MLA

"balls-out." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/balls-out. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

balls-out. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/balls-out

Chicago

"balls-out." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/balls-out.

BibTeX
@misc{balls_out_2026,
  title = {balls-out},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/balls-out},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}