fighting words

Idioms

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).

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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

In corporate-speak, those are fighting words about as barbed as they come: They insinuated that Altman had been lying.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 20, 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

For all her fighting words she gave no overpowering aid—not yet; father and son must prove their mettle still.

From "The Odyssey" by Homer

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023