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Synonyms

let fly

Idioms  
  1. Discharge a missile or fire a weapon; also, attack verbally. For example, He let fly a rotten egg at the speaker, or They let fly some insults laced with four-letter words. The first usage dates from about a.d. 1000, the second from the late 1500s.


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.

See Examples For:

Stale Solbakken, the Norway head coach, and Brede Hangeland, the team manager, have let fly in the media about a training game between the reserve players from the two countries that Clarke cancelled.

From BBC Jun. 8, 2026

The Dodgers scrapped his slider, mixed in a sweeper, and told him his arm was so good that he should stop trying to make perfect pitches and just let fly.

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 3, 2026

A couple of questions later, after defending his crowd sizes, he let fly with this:

From Salon Sep. 11, 2024

Honestly, sometimes I’m just riding by and I realize that Kevin would probably enjoy hearing from me, so I park the bike, walk up to his front door, and let fly.

From Slate Dec. 17, 2023

Deputy Patton let fly a stream of tobacco juice that landed next to Elmer’s work boot.

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson

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