fighting words

Idioms  

1. A statement bound to start a quarrel or fight. It is often expressed as them's fighting words, as in You say your father's smarter than mine? Them's fighting words. The ungrammatical use of them's for “those are” emphasizes the folksy tone of this colloquialism, first recorded in Ring Lardner's Gullible's Travels (1917).

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Example Sentences

Employers resented Roosevelt’s pro-labor stance, as well as his fighting words attacking “economic royalists.”

From Slate • Mar. 17, 2025

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has had some fighting words for Google, too.

From Seattle Times • May 13, 2024

Justice Kagan acknowledged that “true threats,” like libel, incitement, obscenity and fighting words, are not protected by the First Amendment.

From New York Times • Jun. 27, 2023

It's about one company claiming that another company's defamatory actions caused it to lose business, not about "fighting words" or incitement to violence.

From Salon • Apr. 16, 2023

They hear fighting words on the wind, when all I’m thinking is how the late-day sun reminds me of a ripe nectarine.

From "The One and Only Ivan" by Katherine Applegate