be hell-bent on (something)
To be very determined to do something, perhaps to an excessive degree. She's hell-bent on coming here for Thanksgiving, so we better clean the guest room. I'm hell-bent on getting an A on this exam, so I've been studying all week. When her ex-boyfriend walked into the party, Patty was hell-bent on getting out of there.
go hell-bent for leather
To move, act, or do something very quickly or as quickly as possible. When her ex-boyfriend walked into the party, Patty went hell-bent for leather to get out of there. The political candidates have been going hell-bent for leather trying to get last-minute support from voters ahead of Friday's election. Once we set off the building's security alarm, we went hell-bent for leather to get out before the cops showed up.
hell-bent
Very determined to do something, perhaps annoyingly or recklessly so. She's hell-bent on coming here for Thanksgiving, so we better clean the guest room. I'm hell-bent on getting an A on this exam, so I've been studying all week. When her ex-boyfriend walked into the party, Patty was hell-bent on getting out of there.
hell-bent for (something)
Moving toward some place or thing very quickly or recklessly. I always find myself yelling at other drivers when I'm hell-bent for work. A: "I just saw Patty, but she didn't even say hi to me." B: "Yeah, because she was hell-bent for the exit—her ex-boyfriend just got here." A: "Whoa, where are you running off to?" B: "I'm hell-bent for the library because I know it closes in five minutes!"
hell-bent for leather
Very quickly or as quickly as possible. The "leather" in the phrase is thought to refer to a horse's saddle or whip. When her ex-boyfriend walked into the party, Patty went hell-bent for leather to get out of there. I always find myself yelling at other drivers when I'm hell-bent for leather to get to work. She's still hell-bent for leather to come here for Thanksgiving, so we better clean the guest room.
ride hell-bent for leather
To ride (something, especially a horse) as fast as possible. The notorious thief leapt onto his horse with the stolen diamonds and rode hell-bent for leather toward the hills. Riding hell-bent for leather like that on your motorcycle is going to get you killed one of these days.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
hell-bent for leather
Moving recklessly fast, as in Out the door she went, hell-bent for leather. The use of hell-bent in the sense of "recklessly determined" dates from the first half of the 1800s. Leather alludes to a horse's saddle and to riding on horseback; this colloquial expression may be an American version of the earlier British army jargon hell for leather, first recorded in 1889.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
hell-bent for leather
Moving rapidly and with determination. “Hell” in this case strengthens the word “bent,” which means a direct route (although it sounds as though it should mean the opposite). “Leather” refers either to a saddle or to a whip used to urge a horse to move faster, or perhaps items. “Hell for leather” meaning “all deliberate haste” was a popular phrase in itself. Among a number of variants is “hell-bent for election,” said to have originated with the 1840 Maine gubernatorial race and appearing in an 1899 Stephen Crane story: “One puncher racin' his cow-pony hell-bent-for-election down Main Street.” Others are “hell-bent for breakfast,” “for Sunday,” and “for Georgia.”
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price Copyright © 2011 by Steven D. Price