balls-out
Extreme; extremely greatExtreme; extremely great.
Meaning
1 senses(US, idiomatic, not comparable, slang)Extreme; extremely great.
Origin
Usually said to be from the maximum-speed state of a ball governor, whose balls are swungUsually 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.)
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Dictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.