hell-for-leather

1 of 2

adverb

hell-for-leath·​er ˈhel-fər-ˈle-ṯẖər 

: in a hell-for-leather manner : at full speed

rode hell-for-leather down the trail

hell-for-leather

2 of 2

adjective

: marked by determined recklessness, great speed, or lack of restraint

a cocky, hell-for-leather fighting man

—H. H. Martin

Synonyms

Adverb

• apace
• briskly
• chop-chop
• double-quick
• fast
• fleetly
• full tilt
• hastily
• hot
• lickety-split
• posthaste
• presto
• pronto
• quick
• quickly
• rapidly
• snappily
• soon
• speedily
• swift
• swiftly

Adjective

• daredevil
• devil-may-care
• foolhardy
• harum-scarum
• irresponsible
• kamikaze
• reckless

Examples of hell-for-leather in a Sentence

Adverb

we ran hell-for-leather out of that spooky house

Adjective

having been behind for most of the race, the stock car driver made a hell-for-leather dash to the finish

Word History

First Known Use

Adverb

1889, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1920, in the meaning defined above