What the hell does this mean? I mean, I know what it means, but it's a very strange phrase. Who is bent to Hades for dead animal skin?
hell-for-leather adv Also hell-bent for leather [Engl dial; cf EDD (at hell sb.
1. (9))] scattered, but esp West Cf hell-bent for election adv phr 1 At top speed, in great haste.1919 DN 5.76 wMA, Hell bent for leather is the expression to which I am most used. 1939 (1973) FWP Guide MT 414, Hell-for-leather—In great haste. " Ridin ' hell-for-leather " suggests very hard use of leather (i.e., whip). 1939 in 1984 Lambert- Franks Voices 46 OK, Many a time I ' ve seen a bunch of bandits come riding hell-for-leather past the camp, the Regulars (the soldiers) pounding along right behind. 1940 (1942) Clark Ox-Bow 81 NV, I saw that kid Greene, from down to Drew ' s, come by here hell-for-leather half an hour ago. 1950 WELS (To run very fast, especially running away from something) 1 Inf, seWI, Run hell-for-leather. 1954 Forbes Rainbow 181 NEng, " He ' s coming so Hell-for-leather, " says Jude, " he may shoot right by us. 1968 Adams Western Words 145, Hell-for-leather. 1988 DARE File, My Dad, who grew up in Idaho, uses the term " hell-for-leather " ; I was surprised when his cousin, who is from Nebraska, said he knew it as " hell-for-election. "
Source: Dictionary of American Regional English, Harvard University Press
Isn't that a reference to cowboys?