fire on all cylinders



fire on all cylinders

To function or operate at the most desirable or greatest possible level of efficiency, speed, or productivity. (Usually used in the continuous tense.) The new website will be firing on all cylinders once we get the comments section up and running! I only fire on all cylinders after I've had my coffee.
See also: all, cylinder, fire, on

fire on all cylinders

Also, hit or click on all cylinders . Function very well, as in Once we figured out how to use the new software, the department was firing on all cylinders , or "So the best infielder takes time to fit into the infield of a Big League club and have it hit on all four cylinders again" (Christy Mathewson, Pitching in a Pinch, 1912). This term transfers the functioning of an internal combustion engine, which works best when all its cylinders ignite, to broader use. [Early 1900s]
See also: all, cylinder, fire, on

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
MaddieMAD-eeEnglish
Ade (2)-Frisian
JyrkiYUYR-keeFinnish
Klytaimnestra-Greek Mythology
Wasswa-Eastern African, Ganda
Hesiodos-Ancient Greek