chain lightning
(chiefly, US, slang, obsolete) A high-proof whiskey or other spirit that has not been allowed to mature; a poor-quality or adulterated spirit.
Definitions
(chiefly, US, slang, obsolete) A high-proof whiskey or other spirit that has not been allowed to mature; a poor-quality or adulterated spirit.
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(chiefly, US, Canada) Lightning in angular, zigzag, or forked flashes.
smart as chain lightning (sharp-witted)
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(US, especially, attributively) (A person or thing that is) very fast and dynamic.
faster than a cat lapping chain lightning
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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- Chicago lightning64%
(US, dated, slang) Bullets; gunfire.
- Chicago lightning61%
A vivid, dated American slang term for bullets or gunfire — coined during the Prohibition era when Chicago became synonymous with gang warfare, tommy guns, and mob violence. The phrase captures the sudden, deadly speed of gunfire by likening it to a lightning strike, while rooting it geographically in the city that became the symbol of organized crime in the 1920s and 30s. You'll find it in crime fiction, old movies, and historical accounts of that period.
- lightning59%
(figuratively) Anything that moves very fast.