like gangbusters

Related to like gangbusters: take it on the chin, run an errand, cut some slack, catch you later

like gangbusters

With a lot of energy and enthusiasm. Primarily heard in US. When I presented the case to my students, they came on like gangbusters to try to solve the mystery. Our offense came on like gangbusters and overwhelmed the other team.
See also: gangbuster, like
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

like gangbusters

with great excitement and speed. (From the phrase "Come on like gangbusters," a radio show that "came on" with lots of noise and excitement.) She works like gangbusters and gets the job done. They are selling tickets like gangbusters.
See also: gangbuster, like
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

like gangbusters

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]
See also: gangbuster, like
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

like ˈgangbusters

(American English, informal) with a lot of energy and enthusiasm: At the time, we were spending money like gangbusters.A gangbuster was a type of police officer in the US who used to find and arrest criminal gangs (= organized groups). The name comes from a radio programme from the 1930s describing FBI (= Federal Bureau of Investigation) cases.
See also: gangbuster, like
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

like gangbusters

mod. with great excitement and fury. (From the phrase Come on like gangbusters, a radio show that came on with lots of sirens and gunshots.) She works like gangbusters and gets the job done.
See also: gangbuster, like
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

like gangbusters

Slang
With great impact, vigor, or zeal: came on like gangbusters at the start of his campaign; a career that took off like gangbusters.
See also: gangbuster, like
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
See also:
  • go gangbusters
  • like gangbusters, come on/going
  • come on like gangbusters
  • gangbuster
  • be going gangbusters
  • gangbusters
  • get stuck in
  • get stuck into (something)
  • a lease of life
  • a new lease of life
References in periodicals archive
"By 1983, the economy was going like gangbusters, and the best thing about it was that the private sector was allocating the money more efficiently than would have been possible had the government been directing the investments.
Obama should have followed Reagan plan
Fortunately, this gimmick pays off like gangbusters. Packing the soundtrack with classic hip-hop tracks, including A Tribe Called Quest's "Can I Kick It?" Raekwon's "Heaven & Hell," Nas's "The World Is Yours" and Biggie's "The What," Levine gets the audience grooving on his flick's funky vibe from the first frame.
Summer of '94: a hip-hop portrait of a stoner as a young man
For a quartet, they make a big-band kind of a sound, as heard on their new album Comin' On Like Gangbusters.
Feel the heat with Barcelona's Jumpers; Jazz
"Our organic line is taking off like gangbusters," Peterson said.
Carrs/Safeway: life after a merger; initially, times were tough, but now growth is encouraging
"We will continue to grow like gangbusters because the price differential between Ryanair and easyJet and British Airways will not change."
RYANAIR TAX ROW; O'Leary slams call for 'green' charges
His new movie, "Match Point," went over like gangbusters in out-of-competition screenings May 12--and it doesn't even have a distributor.
Woody's 'Match' lights a fire
The little store "went over like gangbusters," McEntire said, but her partner became ill, so she regrouped and reopened in 90 SF in the Heights neighborhood of Little Rock in 1992.
Margaret McEntire, Candy Bouquet International: Little Rock
Ever since the summer slowdown (the result of high energy prices, slow job growth and flat consumer spending), our economy has been going like gangbusters. Oil is now below $50 a barrel, businesses are starting to hire again and stocks are on the move.
Another year older, another year wiser?
The comic scenes in John Weidman's book play like gangbusters thanks to Mary Catherine Garrison, Becky Ann Baker, and Mario Cantone.
Dead presidents: one of Stephen Sondheim's darkest visions, Assassins is powerful and timely stuff, even in an uneven new production
Arcade ran out of quarters, but The Egg's Autobahn wheels is still going like gangbusters.
Trash
"That program took off like gangbusters, but it fizzled out," said Damiano.
Border crossing: Life insurance companies that have historically sold through banks in their own states look to other states' bankers organizations to help them expand distribution. (Banks in Insurance: Life/Health)
On a grander scale, the new nebula observations could hold clues to star formation in distant galaxies, including so-called starburst galaxies, in which stars are forming like gangbusters. The energetic stars that power Hell nebulas "may be common in starburst galaxies, especially in those with low abundances of heavy elements, notes Garnett.
Gorgeous gas: new observations of space clouds reveal stellar histories.
CRUSH FORECAST After a little alone time, you break out onto the social scene like gangbusters. You captivate all (boys included) with your killer conversation skills and silly sense of humor.
Star signs
This includes plays that might not have overt political themes, but that would go over like gangbusters in front of a live audience.
Similarities, not differences. (Letters to the Editor)
I was staring into the dark space of my bedroom and said, out loud, "I miss you." And then the emotions came on like gangbusters. My throat swelled to near closing.
Uncomfortable, uncertain, and unarmed