out on a limb

Idioms  

1. In a difficult, awkward, or vulnerable position, as in I lodged a complaint about low salaries, but the people who had supported me left me out on a limb. This expression alludes to an animal climbing out on the limb of a tree and then being afraid or unable to retreat. [Late 1800s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

out on a limb

If you want to go out on a limb, Disclosure Day was not everyone’s favorite, but it’s worthy of your consideration.

From Slate ● Jun. 26, 2026

“I’m going to go out on a limb and say that we got more laughs than all those films combined.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025

“I do not feel at all like I’m going out on a limb in saying that,” he concluded.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2024

“I’m going to go out on a limb here and say based on how much he’s complaining about conditions in the courtroom, he would hate jail.”

From New York Times ● May 7, 2024

Conibear died just a few years later, in 1917, when he climbed too far out on a limb, while reaching for a plum in a tree in his backyard, and plunged headfirst to the ground.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown