get a charge out of

Etymology

An allusion to feeling the shock of an electric charge.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Verb

get a charge out of (third-person singular simple present gets a charge out of, present participle getting a charge out of, simple past got a charge out of, past participle (UK) got a charge out of or (US) gotten a charge out of)

1. (idiomatic) To derive excitement, entertainment, or pleasure from.
   • 1969, Juliette Lemercier, Justine Lemercier, The Turkish Bath‎, →ISBN, page 108:

     Anyway, I used to get a charge out of the writing on the walls in the John.

   • 1989 October 2, “Yachting: Courting the America's Cup”, in Time:

     Even landlubbers who find yacht racing about as exciting as watching grass grow might get a charge out of the litigious storm swirling around the America's Cup.

   • 2009 January 2, Alina Tugend, “Coping Skills and Horrible Imaginings”, in New York Times, retrieved 27 November 2011:

     There are gamblers who get a charge out of playing the odds and thrive off risk.