Definition
“Balls to the wall” means with maximum effort and commitment. It can function as an adjective or be used as an adverb, typically with “go”.
For example – “He was going balls to the wall on the dance floor last night.”
Clip 1
Jennifer Anniston is being interviewed about the character that she plays in Horrible Bosses 1 and 2. Her character is someone who is completely crazy and Anniston is saying that she had to peform the role with maximum effort and commitment. This is why she uses the phrase “balls to the wall”.
Clip 2
The second clip is from the movie Never Back Down: No Surrender. The man speaking is an MMA promoter and he is trying to encourage a fighter to use steroids to aid his performance for his upcoming fight. This is why he uses the phrase “balls to the wall” to tell the fighter to do everything possible to perform well in the upcoming bout.
Clip 3
This clip is from the drama series Succession. The characters find out that a scandal relating to their company is about to be published and they are panicking about how to stop the story from being leaked. One character says “Our lawyers will go balls to the wall” – referencing that they will try to stop the leak with maximum effort and commitment.
Clip 4
Clip 4 is from the sci-fi series Stitchers. The characters are discussing a former agent named Harrington whose wife was abducted and presumed dead as she was never found. The character describes Harrington as going “balls to the walls” trying to find his wife’s killer which highlights how much effort and commitment he put into searching.