shoot from the hip
to act quickly without thinking
TRANSLATION
shoot from the hip = aus der Hüfte schießen --- GOOGLE INDEX shoot from the hip: approximately 500,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
When the PTI chairman says that its policy would be to order the Pakistan Air Force to shoot down drones, is he SHOOTING FROM THE HIP...?
(The News International)
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However, some long-term observers of US engagement with Iran voiced concern that Romney's inexperience in foreign policy and his tendency to SHOOT FROM THE HIP could upset the common front with Russia and China on Iran, that the Bush and Obama administrations both made the focus of their policy.
(Mail and Guardian)
(The News International)
---
However, some long-term observers of US engagement with Iran voiced concern that Romney's inexperience in foreign policy and his tendency to SHOOT FROM THE HIP could upset the common front with Russia and China on Iran, that the Bush and Obama administrations both made the focus of their policy.
(Mail and Guardian)
Did you
know?
shoot from the hip
idiom
- react without careful consideration of one’s words or actions
(Oxford English Dictionary)
---
The American Wild West was called "wild" for good reason. The landscape was wild, the animals were wild and the people were often wild. The stereotypes depicted in Hollywood westerns, while certainly exaggerated and romanticised for the big screen, contained an element of truth. As in any colourful culture, one of the by-products is a unique language. The Wild West is no exception.
This rough-and-tumble world has enhanced the English language with numerous slang words, expressions and idioms such as "shoot from the hip." In the days when people still carried their pistols in holsters hanging on their hips (as opposed to concealed in a pocket), some would draw their guns, aim carefully and then pull the trigger.
Others would simply draw their weapon as fast as possible from the holster and shoot quickly with the gun at hip level. This requires more reaction than thought. So if someone is said to be "shooting from the hip" in a figurative sense, they tend to speak or act without giving it much thought.
Following are a few more wild idioms to spice up conversation:
- bite the bullet = to accept something difficult and live with it. In the Old West people would bite on a bullet during surgery when no anaesthetic was available. (I just have to bite the bullet and pay the parking fine)
- flash in the pan = someone or something that draws a lot of attention for a very brief time. Said to stem from the Gold Rush days when miners would see glittering rocks in their pans, only to realise it was a worthless rock. (The Internet boom saw lots of companies that ended up being a flash in the pan)
- lock, stock and barrel = everything. Collectively the three parts that made up a musket rifle. (We intend on selling the business lock, stock and barrel)
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"When feeling angry, don't shoot from the hip, count to ten before answering."
idiom
- react without careful consideration of one’s words or actions
(Oxford English Dictionary)
---
The American Wild West was called "wild" for good reason. The landscape was wild, the animals were wild and the people were often wild. The stereotypes depicted in Hollywood westerns, while certainly exaggerated and romanticised for the big screen, contained an element of truth. As in any colourful culture, one of the by-products is a unique language. The Wild West is no exception.
This rough-and-tumble world has enhanced the English language with numerous slang words, expressions and idioms such as "shoot from the hip." In the days when people still carried their pistols in holsters hanging on their hips (as opposed to concealed in a pocket), some would draw their guns, aim carefully and then pull the trigger.
Others would simply draw their weapon as fast as possible from the holster and shoot quickly with the gun at hip level. This requires more reaction than thought. So if someone is said to be "shooting from the hip" in a figurative sense, they tend to speak or act without giving it much thought.
Following are a few more wild idioms to spice up conversation:
- bite the bullet = to accept something difficult and live with it. In the Old West people would bite on a bullet during surgery when no anaesthetic was available. (I just have to bite the bullet and pay the parking fine)
- flash in the pan = someone or something that draws a lot of attention for a very brief time. Said to stem from the Gold Rush days when miners would see glittering rocks in their pans, only to realise it was a worthless rock. (The Internet boom saw lots of companies that ended up being a flash in the pan)
- lock, stock and barrel = everything. Collectively the three parts that made up a musket rifle. (We intend on selling the business lock, stock and barrel)
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"When feeling angry, don't shoot from the hip, count to ten before answering."
