find another gear

• find a new gear

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find another gear

1. (idiomatic, sports) To suddenly achieve an extra burst of athletic performance, especially after a sustained period of competitive exertion.
   • 1999 March 26, Tarik El-Bashir, "Hockey: The Devils Tighten Their Grip On First," New York Times (retrieved 24 Oct 2015):

     But the Devils found another gear in the third period and found the energy that had been lacking throughout a sluggish second period.

   • 2012 Jan. 29, Courtney Nguyen, "Challenged again, Novak Djokovic finds another gear in Australian Open final," Sports Illustrated (retrieved 24 Oct 2015):

     [I]f the 24-year-old Djokovic wants to replicate or even surpass his 2011 results, he'll have to keep finding another gear.

   • 2012 July 30, Mark Sappenfield, "Ryan Lochte finishes fourth as other swimmers steal the Olympic show," Christian Science Monitor (retrieved 24 Oct 2015):

     Swimmers talk about finding another gear when they need it.

   • 2014 Jan. 9, "Skiing: Paerson finds top gear to pip Kostelic," Independent (UK) (retrieved 24 Oct 2015):

     Trailing Kostelic by .017 seconds after her first run, Paerson found another gear on her second trip down the deteriorating course to finish with a combined time of 1min 38.65sec—almost a half-second clear of her Croatian rival.

2. (idiomatic, by extension) To achieve enhanced performance.
   • 2001 July 8, Frank Gibney Jr., "Hyundai In High Gear," Time (retrieved 24 Oct 2015):

     Management's ultimate goal is to become one of the world's top five automakers. That will require finding another gear.

   • 2010 Nov. 17, Steve Marsi, "NCIS Review: "Enemies Foreign"," TV Fanatic (retrieved 24 Oct 2015):

     It's amazing that after seven-plus seasons as one of the most consistently compelling shows on TV, NCIS still finds another gear with certain story arcs.

• another string to one's bow
• second wind