Sucking Diesel
Now making real progress; finally hitting one's stride. Almost always preceded by 'now we're': the phrase marks the moment when the thing being attempted starts running cleanly, as a tractor does when its engine is properly fuelled.
Etymology
Imagery from tractor and lorry engines. An engine that is 'sucking diesel' is drawing fuel cleanly and running properly - the desired state. The metaphor projects that mechanical sense onto a person, project, or business that has finally hit its stride. The phrase belongs to the postwar mechanisation of rural Ireland; by the 1990s it was a commonplace of journalism, sport commentary, and informal banter, used as a triumphant marker rather than a literal description.
In a sentence
Took us a while to get the bookings in, but we're sucking diesel now. - a project status update
Three points from three games - we're sucking diesel. - a sport commentary line
Historical notes
The construction depends on the 'now we're' opener; bare 'sucking diesel' is uncommon. Like 'flying it' and 'motoring', the phrase locates progress in mechanical motion rather than human achievement, which gives it a useful self-deprecating quality. A team that is sucking diesel has done well without the speaker having to claim the credit directly. The agricultural origin keeps the imagery on a working farm even when the speaker is in an office.
Sources
- Carey, Stan. Sentence First (commentary on contemporary Hiberno-English idiom). · other
- Wiktionary, entry 'sucking diesel' (Hiberno-English sense: making good progress). · other