floorboardn.
/ˈflɔːbɔːd/, U.S. /ˈflɔrˌbɔrd/ 1. A wooden plank used for flooring.
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society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > wood > wood in specific form > [noun] > board or plank > for building > for flooring
planch-board1358
plank board1444
floorboarding1750
floorboard1843
board1864
1843 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 4 ii. 358 In filleting, the under edge of each floor-board is cut away, and a fillet, one inch wide, and three-fourths of an inch thick, is introduced.
1881 F. Young Every Man his own Mechanic i. iii. 50 Floor boards are, or ought to be, an inch in thickness.
1912 Recreation Feb. 69/1 The rich, ripe rankness of it all even filtered through the ever-damp floor boards.
1982 A. Tyler Dinner at Homesick Restaurant (1983) i. 15 Hammering down a loose floorboard, with a bristle of nails in her mouth, she would let time slip away from her.
2013 Manly (Austral.) Daily (Nexis) 18 Mar. 3 They loved the 5m-high ceilings, the original floorboards and wide-arched hallway.
2. Chiefly North American. The floor of a motor vehicle. Later chiefly in slang phrases indicating that the driver of a vehicle is accelerating rapidly or aggressively by fully depressing the accelerator pedal, esp. in to hit the floorboard. Cf. to put one's foot to the floor, to put the pedal to the metal.
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society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > driving or operating a vehicle > drive a vehicle [verb (intransitive)] > drive or operate a motor vehicle > accelerate or decelerate
accelerate1902
to open up1903
to open out1906
to step on the gas1916
to step on it (her)1923
to turn the wick up (or down)1948
to hit the floorboard1971
1912 Melbourne Punch 28 Nov. 957/3 A pedal is attached, which is mounted on the floorboard in a convenient position for the driver's foot.
1918 Richmond (Indiana) Palladium 9 Nov. 4/5 (advt.) When the tank is filled with Target, you don't have to put your foot through the floorboard to get action. The car will pick up at the slightest touch of your toe.
1971 Naval Aviation News May 25 (advt.) If you really hit the floorboard it [sc. a jet] will do 1600 miles an hour.
1985 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 16 July An idling car with a faulty exhaust system that leaked carbon monoxide through holes in the floorboard.
2010 B. Herrin You light up our Country 137/1 My foot hit the floorboard, and I immediately hit the emergency brake with my left foot.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2022).
floorboardv.
/ˈflɔːbɔːd/, U.S. /ˈflɔrˌbɔrd/ slang (originally and chiefly North American).
transitive. To fully depress (the accelerator pedal of a motor vehicle) in order to accelerate rapidly or aggressively. Also: to drive (a car) very fast, to put one's foot down. Frequently in to floorboard it.Quot. 1942 may alternatively show an intransitive use.
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society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > driving or operating a vehicle > drive a vehicle [verb (transitive)] > drive a motor vehicle > accelerate
to open out1906
gun1930
floorboard1942
to open up1970
1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §728/4 Drive fast..floorboard, give 'er the gas.
1955 Taylor (Texas) Daily Press 18 Sept. 10/8 I..followed a creeping car for several blocks, before floorboarding it to get around, perhaps a little too much in a hurry.
1971 Scope (S. Afr.) 19 Mar. 59/2 (advt.) You slice her into second gear—all clear ahead—and floorboard the pedal.
1987 C. G. Hart Death on Demand (1993) xviii. 186 He braked hard.., then floorboarded it, and the sports car burst forward like a two-year-old headed for the winner's circle.
1990 St. Petersburg (Florida) Times (Nexis) 2 May 1 b She floorboarded the car, jerked it into gear and sped off.
2014 J. E. Smith Granfather's Gift 132 I slowed the truck to about fifteen or so miles per hour in the curve, clutched it, dropped a gear, then floorboarded the accelerator.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2022).
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n.1843v.1942