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ride for a fall

Idioms  

  1. Court danger or disaster, as in I think that anyone who backs the incumbent is riding for a fall. This idiom alludes to the reckless rider who risks a bad spill. [Late 1800s]

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.

The jockeys ride high on the horses' shoulders and they ride for a fall.

From Seeds of Pine by Canuck, Janey

"My experience is," observed Captain Heseltine, looking up from the Stud Book, "that chaps who ride for a fall come more unholy crumplers than anybody else."

From Half a Hero A Novel by Hope, Anthony

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

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