What does "wound for sound" mean and where did it come from?

Question

This is a figure of speech that's been in my lexicon virtually forever. I'm not sure where I learned this, but to me it means "keyed up and ready to go". A combination of high energy, tension, and preparedness. I assume the etymology does come from winding a speaker coil and means something similar to "ready to rock".

I used it in something that's being translated to another language and the translator is asking me what it means. I wanted to fact check myself and, surprisingly, I could barely find a whiff of it on the Internet. Is this an unusual colloquialism?

deadrat · Answer

From a website:

My dogs are all wound for sound this morning......must be the rain
  storms that are coming...... it is funny how a dog can sense a storm
  brewing. they all run around and run around like wild kids.........

From a poem by a tweaker as recorded on a drug information site about methamphetamine use:

Wound for sound and spun to the gun. We’re tweaking and
  geeking, just having some fun. Before we know it five days have
  gone by.

And in the post-ironic world where personal commerce has the final say, you may buy wound for sound for $15.57.  Money back guarantee

Sven Yargs · Answer

A Google Books search finds just twelve unique for this phrase in the Google Books database, the earliest being from Ben Sloane, Horn: Hot Zone (1990) [combined snippets]:

The place was jumping, packed with miners and street people. The band was wound for sound, and it appeared to Horn that one would need a big shoehorn to get another couple onto the dance floor. He elbowed his way to the bar and ordered a beer, then looked around the joint as an edge of recklessness worked its way into his mind.

But the instance that may be responsible for whatever cultural resonance the expression currently enjoys is a decade younger. From Kevin Smith, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back: A Screenplay (2001) [combined snippets]:

SISSY (rubbing Chrissy's shoulders) Don't mind Chrissy. She's just a little too wound for sound.
CHRISSY Then how about you help me take the edge off?
Chrissy grabs Missy forcefully and the pair make out, hot and heavy in the middle of the convenience store. Other customers regard them wide-eyed.
JUSTICE (to Customers) They're really good friends.

As this excerpt suggests, "wound for sound" means "high-strung," "tightly wound," or "amped up."

Darkalterkazuma · Answer

wound for sound may mean full of energy, exited, and or hyper

i believe the terminology originated to old wind-up toys that if wound past a certain point the engine inside whine at a higher audio tone at first

What does "wound for sound" mean and where did it come from?

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