like a bat out of hell
like a bat out of hell
Very quickly or abruptly. His tires squealed as he drove out of the parking lot like a bat out of hell.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
like a bat out of hell
Inf. very fast or sudden. (Use caution with hell.) The cat took off like a bat out of hell. The car pulled away from the curb like a bat out of hell.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
like a bat out of hell
Moving extremely fast, as in She ran down the street like a bat out of hell. This expression presumably alludes to the rapid darting movement of bats and, Charles Earle Funk theorized, their avoidance of such light as might be cast by the fires of hell. [c. 1900] For a synonym, see like greased lightning.
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.
like a bat out of hell
INFORMALIf you go somewhere like a bat out of hell, you go there very quickly. She tore across the highway like a bat out of hell. I nearly ploughed right into her. Note: In this expression, `bat' is used to refer to a small, flying mammal. Bats are often associated with the devil, probably because they usually fly at night.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
like a bat out of hell
very fast and wildly. informal 1995 Patrick McCabe The Dead School Like a bat out of hell that Joe Buck gets on out of the apartment and doesn't stop running till he reaches Times Square.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
like a ˌbat out of ˈhell
(informal) very fast: If there were a fire, I wouldn’t try to save any possessions. I’d be off like a bat out of hell!Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
like a bat out of hell
mod. very fast or sudden. (Use caution with hell.) The cat took off like a bat out of hell.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
like a bat out of hell
Moving very fast indeed. This expression arose in the Air Force during World War I, originally likening the flight of fighter planes to that of the only surviving flying mammal. It soon was extended to any fast movement. A synonym with a similar combative origin is like a shot, dating from the late 1800s and alluding to the rapidity of a gunshot.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer