get the lead out

English

Etymology

Shortened form of "get the lead out of one's shoes" (or one's pants). Here, "lead" refers to the metal that is very heavy, thus the expression means roughly "get rid of whatever is slowing you down and hurry up".

Verb

get the lead out (third-person singular simple present gets the lead out, present participle getting the lead out, simple past got the lead out, past participle (UK) got the lead out or (US) gotten the lead out)

  1. (idiomatic, dated) To go faster; to hurry up
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