to ride hell for leather
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To ride with the utmost speed, "all out." To work, play, etc., like hell.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to ride hell for leather” mean?
To ride with the utmost speed, "all out." To work, play, etc., like hell.
Is “to ride hell for leather” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.