To exert maximum effort.

Etymology:

  • This expression originated during the 1950s, when cars’ floorboards were made of metal and racers would put the accelerator all the way down to make their autos go as fast as possible. Over the years the definition has expanded to mean exerting your best effort at anything, not just racing.
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Put the pedal to the metal, Jack, you need to finish before we leave in an hour.

Submitted on September 01, 2009

Modified by TriplePurple on April 11, 2024

Additional definitions for 'put the pedal to the metal':

put the pedal to the metalThe literal meaning is to press the gas pedal to the maximum extent; see our other entry for the figurative meaning this phrase has also come to mean
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    "put the pedal to the metal." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Dec. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/put-the-pedal-to-the-metal_6329>.

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