"hell-bent for leather" meaning in English

See hell-bent for leather in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adverb

Etymology: Apparently a blend of hell-bent + hell-for-leather, though sometimes said to have been initially applied to animals which behaved poorly as if they were bent on being turned into leather. Etymology templates: {{blend|en|hell-bent|hell-for-leather|nocap=1}} blend of hell-bent + hell-for-leather Head templates: {{en-adv|-}} hell-bent for leather (not comparable)
  1. (Behaving) determinedly recklessly, in a manner that lacks restraint. Tags: not-comparable
    Sense id: en-hell-bent_for_leather-en-adv-vl3UWNC4 Categories (other): English blends, English entries with incorrect language header Disambiguation of English blends: 39 15 47 Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 62 29 9
  2. Synonym of hell-for-leather (“very fast”) Tags: not-comparable Synonyms: hell-for-leather [synonym, synonym-of]
    Sense id: en-hell-bent_for_leather-en-adv-YSHk1XZX Categories (other): English blends Disambiguation of English blends: 39 15 47
  3. Synonym of hell-bent (“(recklessly) determined”) Tags: not-comparable Synonyms: hell-bent [synonym, synonym-of]
    Sense id: en-hell-bent_for_leather-en-adv-v0mr~J3G Categories (other): English blends Disambiguation of English blends: 39 15 47

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for hell-bent for leather meaning in English (3.6kB)

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "hell-bent",
        "3": "hell-for-leather",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "blend of hell-bent + hell-for-leather",
      "name": "blend"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Apparently a blend of hell-bent + hell-for-leather, though sometimes said to have been initially applied to animals which behaved poorly as if they were bent on being turned into leather.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "hell-bent for leather (not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adv"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adv",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "39 15 47",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English blends",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "62 29 9",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2003, Edward Landers, Smooth, page 510",
          "text": "[...] his Supply Officer was hell bent for leather to torpedo his tour as the Commanding Officer and wanted explanations, or at least reassurances.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2013, Clem Martini, One Hundred Stories for One Hundred Years, page 52",
          "text": "She had been through several programs, to no avail; nothing worked, she was hell-bent for leather, she was intent on hurting herself.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "determinedly recklessly, in a manner that lacks restraint."
      ],
      "id": "en-hell-bent_for_leather-en-adv-vl3UWNC4",
      "links": [
        [
          "determinedly",
          "determinedly"
        ],
        [
          "recklessly",
          "recklessly"
        ],
        [
          "restraint",
          "restraint"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "Behaving",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Behaving) determinedly recklessly, in a manner that lacks restraint."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "39 15 47",
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          "name": "English blends",
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      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2009, Yay Panlilio, The Crucible: An Autobiography by Colonel Yay, Filipina American Guerrilla, Rutgers University Press",
          "text": "“Gosh!” said Marking. “Where the hell did the Japs get that? [...Was that] a Jap plane? God damn, it was fast.” And I agreed, “It was hell-bent for leather some place.”",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Synonym of hell-for-leather (“very fast”)"
      ],
      "id": "en-hell-bent_for_leather-en-adv-YSHk1XZX",
      "links": [
        [
          "hell-for-leather",
          "hell-for-leather#English"
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      "synonyms": [
        {
          "extra": "very fast",
          "tags": [
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          "word": "hell-for-leather"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
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    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "39 15 47",
          "kind": "other",
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      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2000, Angus Wynn, Mojave Fringe, page 95",
          "text": "It had been quite some piece of road from an eastern region of Arizona to SOD, but Jethro was hell-bent for leather. His desire for a meeting with Zelda Klemp had taken him over. He'd been driving since late the previous night ...",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2006, Jeanne Elizabeth Siphron, Fit to be crazy: living with lithium and manic depression",
          "text": "I was determined not to be a back seat driver. I said nothing. I waited patiently for her to stop hugging the berm to keep distance from fast moving traffic. I waited for three thousand miles. She was hell bent for leather to get to our destination, ...",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Synonym of hell-bent (“(recklessly) determined”)"
      ],
      "id": "en-hell-bent_for_leather-en-adv-v0mr~J3G",
      "links": [
        [
          "hell-bent",
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      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "extra": "(“(recklessly) determined”)",
          "tags": [
            "synonym",
            "synonym-of"
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          "word": "hell-bent"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "hell-bent for leather"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English adverbs",
    "English blends",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English uncomparable adverbs"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "hell-bent",
        "3": "hell-for-leather",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "blend of hell-bent + hell-for-leather",
      "name": "blend"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Apparently a blend of hell-bent + hell-for-leather, though sometimes said to have been initially applied to animals which behaved poorly as if they were bent on being turned into leather.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
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      "expansion": "hell-bent for leather (not comparable)",
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adv",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2003, Edward Landers, Smooth, page 510",
          "text": "[...] his Supply Officer was hell bent for leather to torpedo his tour as the Commanding Officer and wanted explanations, or at least reassurances.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2013, Clem Martini, One Hundred Stories for One Hundred Years, page 52",
          "text": "She had been through several programs, to no avail; nothing worked, she was hell-bent for leather, she was intent on hurting herself.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "determinedly recklessly, in a manner that lacks restraint."
      ],
      "links": [
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          "determinedly",
          "determinedly"
        ],
        [
          "recklessly",
          "recklessly"
        ],
        [
          "restraint",
          "restraint"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "Behaving",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Behaving) determinedly recklessly, in a manner that lacks restraint."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2009, Yay Panlilio, The Crucible: An Autobiography by Colonel Yay, Filipina American Guerrilla, Rutgers University Press",
          "text": "“Gosh!” said Marking. “Where the hell did the Japs get that? [...Was that] a Jap plane? God damn, it was fast.” And I agreed, “It was hell-bent for leather some place.”",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Synonym of hell-for-leather (“very fast”)"
      ],
      "links": [
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          "hell-for-leather",
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        ]
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      "synonyms": [
        {
          "extra": "very fast",
          "tags": [
            "synonym",
            "synonym-of"
          ],
          "word": "hell-for-leather"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
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    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2000, Angus Wynn, Mojave Fringe, page 95",
          "text": "It had been quite some piece of road from an eastern region of Arizona to SOD, but Jethro was hell-bent for leather. His desire for a meeting with Zelda Klemp had taken him over. He'd been driving since late the previous night ...",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2006, Jeanne Elizabeth Siphron, Fit to be crazy: living with lithium and manic depression",
          "text": "I was determined not to be a back seat driver. I said nothing. I waited patiently for her to stop hugging the berm to keep distance from fast moving traffic. I waited for three thousand miles. She was hell bent for leather to get to our destination, ...",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Synonym of hell-bent (“(recklessly) determined”)"
      ],
      "links": [
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          "hell-bent",
          "hell-bent#English"
        ]
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      "synonyms": [
        {
          "extra": "(“(recklessly) determined”)",
          "tags": [
            "synonym",
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          "word": "hell-bent"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "hell-bent for leather"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-01 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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