go to the mattresses en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
From Mario Puzo's gangster novel The Godfather (1969). Those involved in such a conflict might be expected to stay in hideouts where they would sleep on mattresses rather than in beds.
Meanings
-
(idiomatic) To go to war; to use ruthless tactics; to act without restraint.
Now, when you're fighting Republicans . . . Democrats are all rallied around and ready to go ahead and go to the mattresses.
2008, "Transcript: CNN LARRY KING LIVE—Interview with Senator Hillary Clinton," CNN analyst Jamal Simmons speaking, 21 Apr.They will have to go to the mattresses; that is they will have to risk a long ugly strike.
1988 December 18, Glen Waggoner, “Sports: Collusion Is Over, but Excess Is Back”, in New York Times, retrieved 21 Sep 2008:I want Sollozzo. If not, it's all-out war. We'll go to the mattresses.
1969, Mario Puzo, The Godfather, Putnam, page 132:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| gone to the mattresses | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| went to the mattresses | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| goes to the mattresses | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| going to the mattresses | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic |