come out swinging / fighting

/kˈʌm ˈaʊt swˈɪŋɪŋ fˈɒtɪŋ/

/kˈʌm ˈaʊt swˈɪŋɪŋ fˈɑːɾɪŋ/

[phrase]

to come out swinging / fighting

[PHRASE]

to respond or react to something in a forceful manner

What is the origin of the idiom "come out swinging" and when to use it?

The exact origin of the phrase "come out swinging" is unclear, as it is a commonly used expression in English language and idiomatic phrases often evolve over time. However, it likely originated from the sport of boxing, where fighters enter the ring and begin a match by throwing punches forcefully and aggressively. The phrase captures the image of a boxer coming out of their corner swinging their fists, ready to engage in a fight with determination and intensity.

Examples

1. But after Fiat took over and the company began to emerge from bankruptcy, Ram came out swinging.

2. Well, and what I'll say is, as Amy was alluding to, Governor Kemp in Georgia came out swinging and called this cancel culture, which is becoming an increasingly common refrain from Republicans, in recent months especially.

3. So the Civil War gives rise to Ambrose Bierce, one of the darkest America writers who came out fighting the Civil War convinced that death comes from everyone at random, sometimes playing cruel practical jokes on human beings.

4. But the thing that really jumped out to me is that unlike the Xbox event from last month, Sony came out swinging, there were, by my count probably almost 20 different games that they showed, and a lot of them were from very big franchises, we got Gran Turismo 7, we got a brand new Resident Evil game we got a ton of newer IPs which is always nice to see at the beginning of a console generation, there was just so much for pretty much anyone on this one.