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like gangbusters
Idioms and Phrases
Energetically, forcefully, loudly. For example, This is a soft passage—the horns shouldn't come in like gangbusters . This expression alludes to a popular radio series entitled Gangbusters , which featured explosive sound effects, such as gunfire and sirens, at the beginning of each episode. [ Slang ; late 1930s]Example Sentences
This went over like gangbusters at its premiere, even as Utah lawmakers spent that week passing anti-trans legislation.
Stewart Goodyear took off like gangbusters in the Mendelssohn piano concerto — fast, efficient, driving — and put aside elegance for hair-raising thrills.
“By shutting up,†said Ken, who thinks ElliQ comes on “like gangbusters†and can be a nag.
That trick still works like gangbusters, and “The Red Door†features several sequences that are “watch through your fingers while slumped down in your seatâ€-level scary.
“Obama comes in like gangbusters.â€
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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