“What, exactly, does ‘gangbusters’ mean?” asked Michael Masterson. “And where did the expression ‘going like gangbusters’ come from?”

We were in a meeting, on page three of a new promotion we were reviewing.

“I’m not sure,” admitted the copywriter. “I’d never heard it until recently.”

Gangbusters. Another one of those words in the English language that we use all the time… but have no idea where it originated.

Well, Gang Busters was a radio show in the 1930s that featured “G-men” busting criminal gangs. The violently noisy opening was full of machine gun fire, sirens, etc. Based on that, “like gangbusters” became a common expression at the time for something that was aggressive, forceful, or energetic. Its use continues today.