chain lightning

Definitions

1. 1

   Lightning in angular, zigzag, or forked flashes.

   • smart as chain lightning (sharp-witted)
   • faster than a cat lapping chain lightning
2. 2

   (A person or thing that is) very fast and dynamic.

   • Hettie was chain lightning with a six-shooter.
   • It was too late in the day; I would find that compared to a trout a bonefish was chain lightning; I wouldn’t see a bonefish; I would not get one if I did.
   • […] he had access to figures which might not have meant much to the ordinary plodder, but to Stanwood’s chain-lightning brain they meant a lot.
3. 3

   A high-proof whiskey or other spirit that has not been allowed to mature

   A high-proof whiskey or other spirit that has not been allowed to mature; a poor-quality or adulterated spirit.

   • Give me a meetin where nobody cares a snap of a finger for nobody in particular, and has no interest but in a good feed, a good song, a good smoke, and chain-lightning to top it all off with.
   • Grandma said no more, but brought a bottle from the closet, and began to rub the spots with chain lightning. To Prudy’s joy and surprise, the dress was soon as clean as ever.
   • The only person who would buy this “chain lightning” was the Kaffir, but the Kaffir was forbidden by law to purchase liquor of any sort.

The neighborhood