sink or swim

Cultural  

1. A sink-or-swim situation is one in which we must save ourselves by our own means or else fail. The image is that of a person thrown into the water without a life preserver; he or she must swim or drown.

---

sink or swim Idioms  

1. Succumb or succeed, no matter what, as in Now that we've bought the farm, we'll have to make a go of it, sink or swim. This expression alludes to the former barbaric practice of throwing a suspected witch into deep water, often weighted down. In case of sinking, the victim died; in case of swimming, the victim was considered in league with the devil and therefore was executed. A related idiom, float or sink, was used by Chaucer in the late 1300s; Shakespeare had the current form in 1 Henry IV (1:3): “Or sink or swim.”

---

Example Sentences

"Travelling, and being at boarding school on my own, I think you either sink or swim," Ley said in a previous interview.

From BBC • May 12, 2025

When they cease to do so, they can sink or swim.

From New York Times • Apr. 27, 2024

Upon being hired, it was sink or swim, so I had to quickly learn the trade.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 6, 2023

It seems to me then the test of whether you sink or swim is, are you funny?

From Salon • Jun. 18, 2023

That's the way they do it here—it's everybody into the language pool, sink or swim.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris