General
hammer lane
What does hammer lane mean?
The leftmost lane on a US interstate — the one you use to overtake and to run at speed. Called the hammer lane because that's where you've got the hammer down. Truckers use it as both a literal direction ('moving to the hammer lane') and as shorthand for a hard-charging life on the road. Major trucker magazine even took the name.
"I'm coming up in the hammer lane, give me a holler when you're clear."
Origin
1970s/80s trucker slang, derived from 'hammer down' (full throttle). The fast lane is where drivers spend time at full speed.
Frequently asked questions
What does hammer lane mean?
The hammer lane is the fast lane or passing lane on a highway.
How do you use hammer lane in a sentence?
A trucker might say, "Stay out of the hammer lane if you're rolling slow."
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