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]

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

Related Words for open fire

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 of open fire

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