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sink or swim
- 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.
Idioms and Phrases
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
Her painting Sink or Swim depicts her and that best friend, who made getting her degree possible.
Moore likely will be fast-tracked to the big leagues to sink or swim with first baseman Nolan Schanuel to his left and shortstop Zach Neto to his right, fellow first-rounders rushed to Anaheim who so far are doggy-paddling like mad to keep their heads above water.
“Some of the worst TV shows have come when you hire a creator, and then tell them what to do rather than saying, ‘Now I’ve got to sink or swim based on their choices.’
“I have a straightforward, documentary approach to recording music, and I’ve never been tempted with my own bands or with anyone else’s band to suddenly go production-happy. If you let the band sound natural, then the record will sink or swim on its own merits. ... The things I like most about rock bands are simplicity and straightforwardness, and those principles guide my recordings.”
When they cease to do so, they can sink or swim.
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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.
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