breakneck

break +‎ neck

breakneck (comparative more breakneck, superlative most breakneck)

1. Dangerously fast; hell-for-leather.

   breakneck pace

   He came running around the corner at a breakneck pace and couldn't stop in time to avoid hitting the fruit stand.

   • 1961 November, H. G. Ellison, P. G. Barlow, “Journey through France: Part One”, in Trains Illustrated, page 668:

     The line to Dunières conists of a series of breakneck descents almost invariably ended by a violent curve and followed immediately by a panting climb, on which the engine barked thunderously but failed unhappily to maintain its booked speed of 13 m.p.h.

   • 2023 June 27, Clea Skopeliti, “‘The future is bleak’: how AI concerns are shaping graduate’s career choices”, in The Guardian‎, →ISSN:

     The use of machine learning in this field is hardly new, but the breakneck pace at which it is improving is worrying, Lund says: “With the advent of ChatGPT, the future is bleak.”

breakneck (plural breaknecks)

1. A fall that breaks the neck.
2. A dangerous steep place from which one could fall badly.

• creekbank