wide-open

[wahyd-oh-puh n] /ˈwaɪdˈoʊ pən/
adjective
1.
opened to the full extent:
a wide-open window.
2.
lacking laws or strict enforcement of laws concerning liquor, vice, gambling, etc.:
a wide-open town.
Origin
1850-55
British Dictionary definitions for wide open

wide-open

adjective (wide open when postpositive)
1.
open to the full extent
2.
(postpositive) exposed to attack; vulnerable
3.
uncertain as to outcome
4.
(US, informal) (of a town or city) lax in the enforcement of certain laws, esp those relating to the sale and consumption of alcohol, gambling, the control of vice, etc
Slang definitions & phrases for wide open

wide open

adjective phrase
  1. Free of police hindrance; hospitable to profitable vice: Phoenix City was a famous wide-open town (1892+)
  2. Vulnerable; open to attack (1915+ Boxing)
  3. Going at full speed; flat out, like sixty
adverb phrase

: He always drove his bike wide open

[third sense from wide-open throttle, probably fr railroading]


Idioms and Phrases with wide open

wide open

.
Unresolved, unsettled, as in The fate of that former colony is still wide open. [ Mid-1900s ]
.
Unprotected or vulnerable, as in That remark about immigrants left him wide open to hostile criticism . This expression originated in boxing, where it signifies being off one's guard and open to an opponent's punches. It began to be used more broadly about 1940. Also see leave open