like a bat out of hell

Idioms and Phrases

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 .

Related Words

• agile
• brisk
• hot
• nimble
• quick
• rapid
• swift