greased lightning
English
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greased lightning
Where it comes from
Believed to come from the observation that greased machinery tends to run faster, and the notion that if a lightning strike (the fastest normally observed movement) could be greased, it might move even faster. Originally US usage, but soon well known in UK due to Thackeray's use in 1848 (see cite).
noun
- Something incredibly fast (now mainly used in comparison: like or faster than greased lightning). We find there quite seriously the monstrous hyperboles of swallowing a camel, of having a wooden beam in the eye, of a camel's going through the eye of a needle, of heaping coals of fire on the head; all well enough as jokes, like the description of the Green Mountain road so steep that "greased lig
Translations
Every language
noun Something incredibly fast
| Deutsch | geölter Blitz, wie der geölte Blitz |
|---|
Talk about this word "greased lightning." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/greased%20lightning. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. greased lightning. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/greased%20lightning "greased lightning." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/greased%20lightning.Cite this
@misc{greased_lightning_2026,
title = {greased lightning},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/greased%20lightning},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
