risk life and limb

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Also, risk one's neck. Take dangerous chances, as in There he was on the roof, risking life and limb to rescue the kitten, or I don't want to risk my neck contradicting him. The first hyperbolic expression, dating from the early 1600s, doesn't make sense, since if one loses one's life one also loses the use of one's limbs. The variant, used for risky undertakings of all kinds, physical and nonphysical, presumably alludes to being hanged or beheaded. Also see stick one's neck out.

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ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

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Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

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Words nearby risk life and limb

risk-averse, risk aversion, risk-benefit, risk capital, risk factor, risk life and limb, risk management, risktaker, risky, Risorgimento, risorius muscle

How to use risk life and limb in a sentence

As an example of good science-and-society policymaking, the history of fluoride may be more of a cautionary tale.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
As this list shows, punishments typically run to a short-ish jail sentence and/or a moderately hefty fine.
In Defense of Blasphemy|Michael Tomasky|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
His life as a man is built around health insurance and tax services.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President|Pierre Assouline|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It was also an attack on our freedom of expression and way of life.
Politicians Only Love Journalists When They're Dead|Luke O’Neil|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Obsessive exercising and inadequate nutrition can, over time, put people at high risk for overuse injuries like stress fractures.
How Skinny Is Too Skinny? Israel Bans ‘Underweight’ Models|Carrie Arnold|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Now, it immediately occurred to Davy that he had never in his whole life had all the plums he wanted at any one time.
Davy and The Goblin|Charles E. Carryl
Dean Swift was indeed a misanthrope by theory, however he may have made exception to private life.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
We shall recover again some or all of the steadfastness and dignity of the old religious life.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
It is the dramatic impulse of childhood endeavouring to bring life into the dulness of the serious hours.
Children's Ways|James Sully
Woman is mistress of the art of completely embittering the life of the person on whom she depends.
Pearls of Thought|Maturin M. Ballou