find another gear

Verb

find another gear (third-person singular simple present finds another gear, present participle finding another gear, simple past and past participle found another gear)

1. (idiomatic) To suddenly achieve an extra burst of athletic performance, especially after a sustained period of competitive exertion.
   • But the Devils found another gear in the third period and found the energy that had been lacking throughout a sluggish second period.1999 March 26, Tarik El-Bashir, “Hockey: The Devils Tighten Their Grip On First”, in New York Times, 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 January 29, Courtney Nguyen, “Challenged again, Novak Djokovic finds another gear in Australian Open final”, in Sports Illustrated, retrieved 24 Oct 2015
2. (broadly, idiomatic) To achieve enhanced performance.
   • Management's ultimate goal is to become one of the world's top five automakers. That will require finding another gear.2001 July 8, Frank Gibney Jr., “Hyundai In High Gear”, in Time, 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.2010 November 17, Steve Marsi, “NCIS Review: "Enemies Foreign"”, in TV Fanatic, retrieved 24 Oct 2015