put the hammer down

put the hammer down

To press down the accelerator (of an automobile) as far as possible; to accelerate to or travel at an automobile's maximum speed. Primarily heard in US. It would normally take us three days driving to New York from Colorado, but with my brother putting the hammer down the whole way, we made it in two.
See also: down, hammer, put
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • keep/put the pedal to the metal
  • with the pedal to the metal
  • pedal to the metal
  • put the pedal to the metal
  • turn of speed
  • a turn of speed
  • punch it
  • have a lead foot
  • gun it
  • bunk off
References in periodicals archive
But that gap was overturned in the proceeding 10 miles of Drumtochty as Thorburn put the hammer down. The Duns driver powered his Ford Focus WRC05 to a 14-second stage victory to lead Armstrong by three seconds heading into service.
THREE TIMES A CHARM; Duo win their third Scottish championship title with victory at the Grampian Forest Rally
In Game 2, Sizemore put the hammer down, rolling 21-13 for the title.
Sizemore is steady again in 65+ cruise
The Briton pitted on lap 10 as Bottas put the hammer down with a string of fastest laps on tyres that had carried him nearly 20 times around the 3.295-mile circuit.
FLYING FINN COASTS TO OZ VICTORY; ETORO IS A GLOBAL, MULTI-ASSET INVESTMENT PLATFORM
200m before the finish line, the road curved to the left and Gaviria saw his opportunity to put the hammer down - exploding past his lead out man Kristoff.
Team Emirates' Fernando Gaviria wins stage two of UAE Tour in style
Zhang had plenty of opportunities to really put the hammer down but could not quite do it and Svitolina went over to her Chinese opponent after the match to offer some consoling words.
HALEP: I'VE NOTHING TO LOSE AGAINST SERENA
class="MsoNormalBarely two-thirds into the marathon, the leading pack put the hammer down and left Bekele to lag in the Amsterdam cold.
How corruption 'helped' Kenya to be world's marathon king
"I left it until the third lap and as soon as I hit the front, I knew I could put the hammer down."
Hulson wins first Cross Challenge of season
The NBA put the hammer down and officially barred the Cleveland Cavaliers point guard from playing in the Asiad after the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas tried to iron the kinks for almost three weeks.
NBA: No go
Van Buren would go quietly the rest of the game and Steeleville put the hammer down. The Warriors added 4 more in the second, 7 in the 3rd and knock out 5 straight hits in the bottom of the 4th to score 3 and give them the 17-2 win for the tournament title.
Steeleville dominates Van Buren tourney
I was still deciding on doing it or not, then at first I actually turned away to walk off and put the hammer down, but he's seen me turning round, as I walked away, he turned round and touched my a***.
Day I killed OAP with a hammer
"He invited him in and he (the partner) came in with a hammer and put the hammer down on the table.
Man spat at police officer; ROW STARTED WITH CONFRONTATION OVER NEIGHBOUR WHO REFUSED TO CLEAR UP DOG MESS OUTSIDE HOUSE
Daquigan wasted no time taking the lead early on in Race 1 as he put the hammer down and kept his focus on every lap despite the scorching Malaysian heat, en route to a sizeable margin of over five laps to top Class A.
Daquigan wins anew in Sepang
His children tried to calm him and he had put the hammer down and left the room.
He 'strangled the life out of her'.. and he had tried to do it before; DAD WHO KILLED EX FACES LIFE FOR MURDER Jury didn't hear the full details of previous attack
Jackson then put the hammer down and pulled out a good lead which he held until his tyres started to go off and he then became embroiled in a great scrap but held on to take a muchneeded win for the team.
Mat in winner's circle but injuries dampen the mood
When welders and machinists are in high demand, those industries have put the hammer down to attract new recruits to those fields.
Trucking calls out for more young drivers