hell-bent for leather

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hell-bent for leather

Where it comes from

Apparently a blend of hell-bent + hell-for-leather, though sometimes said to have been initially applied to animals which behaved poorly as if they were bent on being turned into leather.

adverb

not comparable determinedly recklessly, in a manner that lacks restraint. [...] his Supply Officer was hell bent for leather to torpedo his tour as the Commanding Officer and wanted explanations, or at least reassurances.
not comparable Synonym of hell-for-leather (“very fast”). “Gosh!” said Marking. “Where the hell did the Japs get that? [...Was that] a Jap plane? God damn, it was fast.” And I agreed, “It was hell-bent for leather some place.”
Similar: hell-for-leather
not comparable Synonym of hell-bent (“(recklessly) determined”). It had been quite some piece of road from an eastern region of Arizona to SOD, but Jethro was hell-bent for leather. His desire for a meeting with Zelda Klemp had taken him over. He'd been driving since late the previous night ...
Similar: hell-bent

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MLA

"hell-bent for leather." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/hell-bent%20for%20leather. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

hell-bent for leather. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/hell-bent%20for%20leather

Chicago

"hell-bent for leather." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/hell-bent%20for%20leather.

BibTeX

@misc{hell_bent_for_leather_2026,
  title = {hell-bent for leather},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hell-bent%20for%20leather},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}