What’s “full speed ahead” mean?

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“At full speed” is an idiom meaning to approach a task with enthusiasm and energy. It originated from “full steam ahead” and is figurative language. The opposite is apathy.

The phrase “at full speed” is an idiomatic expression. Rather than meaning that someone is going with great speed, it means that one is going with enthusiasm, vigor or energy in whatever task is undertaken. It is the opposite of approaching a goal or task with hesitation, slowness, boredom, or apathy.
It could be said that people who are highly motivated and driven to succeed move “full speed ahead”. It can be said that a woman who works in a large company and takes on many projects at work, is fully committed to all of them, and wishes to earn a promotion, is going “full speed ahead”. If a man puts everything he has into organizing a charity fundraising event that will benefit the underprivileged and underprivileged, going all the way in the way of publicity, awareness and resources, that sentence would apply to him as well.

The opposite of this sentence can be illustrated by words such as “apathetic”, “apathetic” or “accommodating”. A student who doesn’t study for tests, refuses to take class notes, and doesn’t participate in class activities cannot be said to be going “full speed ahead” academically. A basketball player who is not catching passes from team members, preventing opposing team members from throwing or passing shots, or throwing shots to help win the game is definitely not playing in a manner that can be described as speed”. ”

This phrase originated in the United States. It comes from the phrase “full steam ahead,” which originally referred to steam engines. In a vessel powered by a steam engine, when the boiler has reached its maximum pressure, it could be said to be running “at full steam”. Like many idioms, “full speed” and “full steam” have changed in meaning over the years, such that they now refer figuratively to rapid movement instead of literally plenty of steam and forward motion in a vessel steam engine.

Idioms are a type of figurative language, which also includes similes, metaphors, hyperbole, and other related literary devices. Figurative language refers to language that might say one thing literally but has another figurative meaning. While “full speed ahead,” for example, might at first seem related to speed or how fast you travel, it’s actually a figure of speech that refers to the energy or motivation you put into a task. Like this expression, many figures of speech require some thought to analyze or understand.




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