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both barrels, with

Idioms  
  1. With full force, as in When I scolded her for stealing, I let her have it with both barrels. This term alludes to firing with both barrels of a double-barreled shotgun. [Colloquial; mid-1900s]


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.

Ranger Townsend rode through this weak point in the stockade, unloosed both barrels with a bill to end foreign silver purchases.

From Time Magazine Archive

I held in my hands a double-barrel, loaded in both barrels with large-sized buck-shot; my companion’s weapon was a long Spanish rifle.

From The Hunters' Feast Conversations Around the Camp Fire by Reid, Mayne

I had not seen him come; the sketch-book was in hand; the gun—loaded in both barrels with shot, for cats and the like—lay on the ground; truly a magnificent bungle!

From Wild Spain (Espa?a agreste) Records of Sport with Rifle, Rod, and Gun, Natural History Exploration by Buck, Walter J.

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