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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

swing for the fences en · VERB

Pronunciation

Meanings

  1. (US) To swing at the ball as hard as possible, with the aim of getting a home run.
    • Don't swing for the fences unless it's an easy ball; be content with running part way.
  2. (US, idiomatic) To do something extremely ambitious, especially rashly.
    • “This is a very inexperienced government swinging for the fences in a situation where Labour is the strong favorite in the next election, if they don’t swing too far left,” said Kenneth S. Rogoff, a professor of economics at Harvard. 2022 September 27, Mark Landler, quoting Kenneth S. Rogoff, “Truss Takes a Bold Economic Gamble. Will It Sink Her Government?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 19 Dec 2022:
    • I'm not going to swing for the fences tomorrow, but I'm hoping my speech will be warmly received.
    • Go on and swing for the fences / Take a shot at the moon / A dandelion that dances / Takes chances and fancies every little light in the room 2025, “Swing For The Fences”, performed by Elton John and Brandi Carlile:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
swung for the fences Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
swung for the fences Tense=Past lexicographic
swings for the fences Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
swinging for the fences Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
swing for the fence alternative lexicographic

Relateds

run for the roses · hit one out of the ballpark · shoot the moon