Mexican overdrive

English

Etymology

Synchronically, coordinate with other variants of overdrive in this sense of the word, whereas some of the variants certainly denigrate outgroups (e.g., Jewish overdrive, Polish overdrive) and others might not be denigrating but rather celebratory (e.g., Georgia overdrive); diachronically, this one has been said to be based on NASCAR teams' experience in the early 1950s in the legendary Carerra Panamerica, where the long hills would have otherwise overrevved the engines, although this may be a folk etymology for just another outgroup-denigrating variant.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Noun

Mexican overdrive (uncountable)

1. (US, slang, automotive) Synonym of angel gear.

   He shifted his car out of gear, at the top of the hill, and coasted down in Mexican overdrive.

References

• Playboy Magazine once answered a reader's question about the meaning of this term.
• https://web.archive.org/web/20060328232254/http://www.markcarey.com/spamdb/discuss-increase-your-gas-mileage.html