in the fast lane
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Where life is exciting or highly pressured.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
… bloody man is in the fast - lane; comes off at junction 7 for a year or so here, and then he'll be off and away at junction 8, on to his chief's job somewhere else … and look at him!
STYLING TRICKS FROM CLAIROL FOR LIFE IN THE FAST LANE
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Metaphor (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Common questions
What does “in the fast lane” mean?
Where life is exciting or highly pressured.
Is “in the fast lane” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.