full speed ahead

Idioms and Phrases

Also, full steam ahead . As fast and as strongly as possible. For example, There's only one way we'll get there on time, so go full speed ahead , or Production would go full steam ahead as soon as the orders were confirmed . It is also put as with a full head of steam , as in She was traveling with a full head of steam—she was due there at noon . These expressions all allude to the steam engine, where full steam signifies that a boiler has developed maximum pressure. They became well known through an order allegedly given by Admiral David Farragut at the battle of Mobile Bay (1864): “Damn the torpedoes! Full steam ahead!”