What is "in full blast"

Full \Full\ (f[.u]l), a. [Compar. Fuller (f[.u]l"[~e]r); superl. Fullest.] [OE. & AS. ful; akin to OS. ful, D. vol, OHG. fol, G. voll, Icel. fullr, Sw. full, Dan. fuld, Goth. fulls, L. plenus, Gr. plh`rhs, Skr. p[=u][.r]na full, pr[=a] to fill, also to Gr. poly`s much, E. poly-, pref., G. viel, AS. fela. [root]80. Cf. Complete, Fill, Plenary, Plenty.]

1. Filled up, having within its limits all that it can contain; supplied; not empty or vacant; -- said primarily of hollow vessels, and hence of anything else; as, a cup full of water; a house full of people.

   Had the throne been full, their meeting would not have been regular.
   --Blackstone.

2. Abundantly furnished or provided; sufficient in quantity, quality, or degree; copious; plenteous; ample; adequate; as, a full meal; a full supply; a full voice; a full compensation; a house full of furniture.

3. Not wanting in any essential quality; complete; entire; perfect; adequate; as, a full narrative; a person of full age; a full stop; a full face; the full moon.

   It came to pass, at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed.
   --Gen. xii. 1.

   The man commands Like a full soldier.
   --Shak.

   I can not Request a fuller satisfaction Than you have freely granted.
   --Ford.

4. Sated; surfeited.

   I am full of the burnt offerings of rams.
   --Is. i. 11.

5. Having the mind filled with ideas; stocked with knowledge; stored with information.

   Reading maketh a full man.
   --Bacon.

6. Having the attention, thoughts, etc., absorbed in any matter, and the feelings more or less excited by it, as, to be full of some project.

   Every one is full of the miracles done by cold baths on decayed and weak constitutions.
   --Locke.

7. Filled with emotions.

   The heart is so full that a drop overfills it.
   --Lowell.

8. Impregnated; made pregnant. [Obs.] Ilia, the fair, . . . full of Mars. --Dryden. At full, when full or complete. --Shak. Full age (Law) the age at which one attains full personal rights; majority; -- in England and the United States the age of 21 years. --Abbott. Full and by (Naut.), sailing closehauled, having all the sails full, and lying as near the wind as poesible. Full band (Mus.), a band in which all the instruments are employed. Full binding, the binding of a book when made wholly of leather, as distinguished from half binding. Full bottom, a kind of wig full and large at the bottom. Full brother or Full sister, a brother or sister having the same parents as another. Full cry (Hunting), eager chase; -- said of hounds that have caught the scent, and give tongue together. Full dress, the dress prescribed by authority or by etiquette to be worn on occasions of ceremony. Full hand (Poker), three of a kind and a pair. Full moon.

   1. The moon with its whole disk illuminated, as when opposite to the sun.

   2. The time when the moon is full.

      Full organ (Mus.), the organ when all or most stops are out.

      Full score (Mus.), a score in which all the parts for voices and instruments are given.

      Full sea, high water.

      Full swing, free course; unrestrained liberty; ``Leaving corrupt nature to . . . the full swing and freedom of its own extravagant actings.'' South (Colloq.)

      In full, at length; uncontracted; unabridged; written out in words, and not indicated by figures.

      In full blast. See under Blast.

Blast \Blast\ (bl[.a]st), n. [AS. bl[=ae]st a puff of wind, a blowing; akin to Icel. bl[=a]str, OHG. bl[=a]st, and fr. a verb akin to Icel. bl[=a]sa to blow, OHG. bl[^a]san, Goth. bl[=e]san (in comp.); all prob. from the same root as E. blow. See Blow to eject air.]

1. A violent gust of wind.

   And see where surly Winter passes off, Far to the north, and calls his ruffian blasts; His blasts obey, and quit the howling hill.
   --Thomson.

2. A forcible stream of air from an orifice, as from a bellows, the mouth, etc. Hence: The continuous blowing to which one charge of ore or metal is subjected in a furnace; as, to melt so many tons of iron at a blast.

   Note: The terms hot blast and cold blast are employed to designate whether the current is heated or not heated before entering the furnace. A blast furnace is said to be in blast while it is in operation, and out of blast when not in use.

3. The exhaust steam from and engine, driving a column of air out of a boiler chimney, and thus creating an intense draught through the fire; also, any draught produced by the blast.

4. The sound made by blowing a wind instrument; strictly, the sound produces at one breath.

   One blast upon his bugle horn Were worth a thousand men.
   --Sir W. Scott.

   The blast of triumph o'er thy grave.
   --Bryant.

5. A sudden, pernicious effect, as if by a noxious wind, especially on animals and plants; a blight.

   By the blast of God they perish.
   --Job iv. 9.

   Virtue preserved from fell destruction's blast.
   --Shak.

6. The act of rending, or attempting to rend, heavy masses of rock, earth, etc., by the explosion of gunpowder, dynamite, etc.; also, the charge used for this purpose. ``Large blasts are often used.''
   --Tomlinson.

7. A flatulent disease of sheep.

   Blast furnace, a furnace, usually a shaft furnace for smelting ores, into which air is forced by pressure.

   Blast hole, a hole in the bottom of a pump stock through which water enters.

   Blast nozzle, a fixed or variable orifice in the delivery end of a blast pipe; -- called also blast orifice.

   In full blast, in complete operation; in a state of great activity. See Blast, n., 2. [Colloq.]