open fire

Begin a verbal attack, as in In her second letter to the editor she opened fire, saying the reporter had deliberately misquoted her. This idiom alludes to discharging a firearm. [Mid-1800s]

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Related Words

execute murder hit launch fire explode kill hurl blast hound bomb besiege pester blitz harass barrage batter strafe plug bombard

Examples from the Web for open fire

Contemporary Examples

The book explains seven varieties of open-fire cooking that are done in a very simple way, which I respect.
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John Mooney
April 12, 2011