täyspuuta

Täyspuuta is a Finnish colloquial expression used to describe performing an action with maximum effort or at full capacity. The phrase is informal and not found in formal dictionaries; its meaning stems from a sense of pushing something to its limits, though the exact figurative origin is not standardized. In everyday speech it is commonly heard in contexts involving driving, sports, or heavy work, where someone is said to operate at “full power.”

Etymology and sense development are informal. The first element, täysi, means full, while puuta is the partitive form of puu (wood), but in this idiom the word material is less important than the idea of maximum force or intensity. Because it is slangy rather than literary Finnish, usage can vary by speaker and region.

Usage notes: täyspuuta is typically appropriate in casual conversation, online discussions, or storytelling, but it is not suitable for formal writing. It can be replaced by more standard expressions such as täysillä (at full speed/effort) or mennä täysillä. Learners of Finnish might encounter the phrase in popular media or social media, where nuance and regional flavor are common.

See also: täysillä, mennä täysillä, idioms expressing maximal effort.