under fire

Idioms  

1. Criticized or held responsible, as in The landlord is under fire for not repairing the roof. This expression originally referred to being within range of enemy guns; its figurative use dates from the late 1800s.

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Example Sentences

That idea came under fire as long ago as the 1920s, when advocates of air power showed that battleships were vulnerable to air attack.

From Los Angeles Times

That revelation led to a surge in discontent with a government already under fire for its strict moral codes and poor economic performance.

From The Wall Street Journal

That revelation led to a surge in discontent with a government already under fire for its poor economic performance and its reviled strict moral codes.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Justice Department has come under fire from lawmakers for Friday’s release, which was incomplete and heavily redacted.

From The Wall Street Journal

U.S. and Syrian troops came under fire while on a joint counterterrorism mission, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell wrote on social media.

From The Wall Street Journal