War & weapons idioms

[linguaholic]

Collection of idioms about "war & weapons"

I feel like it is time to start another idiom thread. Let's have a look at "war & weapons" idioms!

I will do the start this time:

'a battle of nerves'

'bite the bullet'

'a double-edged sword'

'loose cannon'

'shoot down in flames'

'to open old wounds'

'a knight in shining armour'

It would be appreciated if some of the native speakers could give some short and concise definitions of the idioms that I just mentioned. It's pretty difficult for me so I will just let the pro's do it. thank you :grin:

[Denis Hard]

A few more:

To the hilt - do something to the limit.

Cross swords - to have a dispute with someone.

All's fair in love and war - you can use any means fair/foul to beat someone in a competition.

War of words - a long [bitter] argument between. . .

[Daimashin]

I only know a few, they are "dodge the bullet," "fight an uphill battle," "open up old wounds," and "quick on the trigger."

[Baburra]

"The pen is mightier than the sword", I think is a great example of this. Although, I don't think it's used as much anymore nowadays. Probably because people rarely even use pens anymore lol.  I think it's still pretty accurate even in these modern times, though.

[Linguetronix]

Fought tooth and nail - meaning to fight very hard, very doggedly.

He took a dagger to the heart - to receive a huge blow, mostly shocking emotional news.

[eppie]

Here's some of my favorite war/weapons idioms:

•   :karate: Battle of the bulge - Attempt to keep good figure.
  
• Battle of the sexes - Disagreement or conflict between the male and the female sex.
  
• Bring a knife to a gunfight - Going to someplace unprepared or badly prepared.
  
• Don't shoot the messenger - When you don't want to get blamed for delivering a bad news.
  
• A rank and file - Refers to an ordinary employee of a company.
  

I guess that's all I have for now.  :grin:

[Rosa]

All's fair in love and war.

The pen is mightier than the sword.

Fighting a loosing battle.

A battle royal.

These are just a few that comes to mind.

[AExAVF]

Meeting your Waterloo - you will have to face your greatest weakness.

Crossing the Rubicon - you have reached the point of no return and the only way to go is forward.

Pyrrhic victory - although you have apparently won, you have actually lost.

[mmjmaske]

Bury the hatchet - to end a quarrel or become friendly. It was used literally around the time native indians were around what is the United States now; it meant to keep weapons under the ground or hidden until such a time they were needed again.

[sidney]

be under the gun - to feel anxious because you have to do something by a particular time or in a particular way.

jump the gun - you start prematurely before the proper time is right.

[Trellum]

A few more:

To the hilt - do something to the limit.

Cross swords - to have a dispute with someone.

All's fair in love and war - you can use any means fair/foul to beat someone in a competition.

War of words - a long [bitter] argument between. . .

My fav one is the first one   I have done a lot things to the hilt, hehehe!  ''war of words'' seems to be such a relevant idiom right now, just like ''turf war'', I think we are seeing a lot of that lately.  Just look at Putin and his threats to the west! Many say it's all talking, a word of wars, I hope so!

[czarina84]

All I can think of off-hand is "gunning for" someone.  It means to go after them.  To make their lives miserable or to find them to physically hurt them.  There's also "bite the bullet", which is to accept something negative, because it can't be changed.  This is mostly used when talking about the consequences of certain actions.  "Run the gauntlet" is mostly used when someone is being harshly criticized by a lot of people.  And "under the gun" means under a lot of pressure.  Wow. They just started coming to me after I wrote the first one.

[MartaTomTom]

• “A chink in your armour” [=If someone or something which seems to be strong has a chink in their armour, they have a small fault which may cause them problems]. Ex.: (1) He's the best student in the class, but his poor spelling is the chink in his armour. (2) She's a brilliant businesswoman, but her lack of political awareness may be the chink in her armour.

• “Stick to one’s guns” [Fig.] [=To remain firm in one’s convictions; to stand up for one’s rights. To refuse to change your ideas although other people try to make you change them]. Ex.: (1) Despite harsh criticism, she’s sticking to her guns on this issue. (2) David’s family were against him becoming an actor but he stuck to his guns. (3) Stand by your guns and don’t let them talk you into working full time if you don’t want to.

• “Have a shotgun wedding” [=A wedding that happens quickly due to an unplanned pregnancy]. Ex.: (1) Yes, it was definitely a shotgun wedding: the bride gave birth at the reception! (2) After finding out she was pregnant, Gina and Tom had a shotgun wedding.