To go at full (unregulated) power
Steam engines had mechanical regulators that consisted of a pair of hinged lever arms with a ball on the end of each arm, as the engine sped up the centrifugal force caused the arms to raise up closing a valve. If you adjust the regulator so that the arms go to horizontal (with the balls pointing to the wall) without closing the valve you are not limiting the speed of the engine.
Steam engines had mechanical regulators that consisted of a pair of hinged lever arms with a ball on the end of each arm, as the engine sped up the centrifugal force caused the arms to raise up closing a valve. If you adjust the regulator so that the arms go to horizontal (with the balls pointing to the wall) without closing the valve you are not limiting the speed of the engine.
by Pat Reen January 06, 2005
Intense, extreme, to the max. The phrase comes from olde-fashioned steam engines; basically, they had two weighted balls attached to a vertical shaft which was connected to the engine. As the engine speed increased, these two balls would be raised higher because of centrifugal force! At top speed, they would be parallel to the ground, nearly touching the "walls" of the shaft! Hence, "balls to the wall."
"Balls to the wall" is a phrase with an interesting origin. Remember, when it comes to etymologies, the best story wins!
by Testicles! December 20, 2008
A term referring to the rotating governors used on steam locomotives and related steam engines such as tractors. The brass balls acted as weights on the end of linkages, and rotated with the increase in RPM of the engine. As speeds rose, the balls swung outwards, rising on the linkages. At a pre-set height, the release valve would engage, lowering steam pressure and reining in the RPM to the allowable maximum. The balls rose towards the firewall and/or the walls of the cab., hence the term.
by Larry Grosfield May 29, 2008
Originally a military term for pushing maximum G-Forces in a jetfighter aircraft, as in pushing the ball of a throttle as high up as it will go (virtually touching the wall of the dashboard).
Fast; hectic; pushed to the limits
Fast; hectic; pushed to the limits
by Greg Novak November 15, 2003
Overconfidence in something.
Jack Pirogue made a bet in a bar in Cincinnati that he would make 2 of 3 darts into the double bullseye or his friends could mail his balls to the wall. He did not make the throws and had his ballsack cut off and nailed to the bar, coincidentally named Jack's. To this day if you go to the bar you can see a leathery dried up ballsack nailed to the wall.
Jack Pirogue made a bet in a bar in Cincinnati that he would make 2 of 3 darts into the double bullseye or his friends could mail his balls to the wall. He did not make the throws and had his ballsack cut off and nailed to the bar, coincidentally named Jack's. To this day if you go to the bar you can see a leathery dried up ballsack nailed to the wall.
by GimpyMcGimpo May 30, 2020
When you fuck standing up, with the chick's back up against the wall and her legs wrapped around your hips, and you're fucking her so hard your balls are swinging and hitting up against the wall.
by John Steele 69 March 05, 2016