Dictionary

balls to the wall en · ADV

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

First attested in the 1960s in the context of aviation, in reference to ball-shaped grips on an aircraft's engine controls (typically throttle, prop pitch and fuel mixture). Pushing these "balls to the wall" would put the aircraft at maximum thrust. Analogous to pedal to the metal. Not related to the term balls-out, which refers to a ball governor on a steam engine. Neither balls-out nor balls to the wall is connected with the vulgar sense of balls (“testicles”) except via folk etymology.

Meanings

1. (US, idiomatic, not-comparable, slang) With maximum effort or commitment.
   • I told the staff...the day before the hurricane struck that I expected them to cut every piece of red tape, do everything they could, that it was balls to the wall, that I didn't want to hear anybody say that we couldn't do anything—to do everything they humanly could to respond. 2006, Michael D. Brown, Testimony before the US Senate Homeland Security Committee:
   • “Asian women on-screen, especially in America and Hollywood, have been so sexualized and fetishized for the benefit of other people’s stories or jokes,” Ashley says. “And we’re like, ‘We’re gonna go balls to the wall, further than anyone’s gone with Asian women.’” 2023 June 15, Kat Moon, “Ashley Park’s Main Character Energy From ‘Joy Ride’ Is Here To Stay: ‘I’m Treating Myself Like A Lead Now’”, in Women's Health:
   • “I always go balls to the wall,” founding Ape Gordon Goner tells Rolling Stone over Zoom. 2021 November 1, Samantha Hissong, quoting Gordon Goner, “How Four NFT Novices Created a Billion-Dollar Ecosystem of Cartoon Apes”, in Rolling Stone:
2. (US, idiomatic, not-comparable, slang) Full throttle; (at) maximum speed.

Forms

Relateds

go to the wall · pedal to the metal

Synonyms

all out