to go out on a limb
41
6.1
- idiom
- Informal
- She decided to go out on a limb and support the controversial proposal at the meeting.
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Watch on YouTubeAnd then he went to New York, to the Vince McMahon and went out on a limb for him again.
- And then he went to New York, to the Vince McMahon and went out on a limb for him again.
- Would you would you go out on a limb and say that you that you genuinely like most people?
- And that's, that seems to be your chief concern is that we validate your parking when maybe I'm going out on a limb here.
- And, you know, you think about going out on a limb and having it chopped behind you while you're out there.
- So I would say, let's reward each other for take going out on a limb for for taking risks with us.
- There's a kind of a very girthy sort of Indian or Middle Eastern man downstairs who I'm going to go out on a limb and say this fellow wants to do sex with me.
- So I'm going to go out on a limb, you know, or is, Yeah, I'm going to go out on a limb here.
Examples
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I'm going to go out on a limb and say vast improvement.
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Come on, take a stand, go out on a limb, decide you're just going to do something wildly crazy and have an opinion.
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Like people had to really go out on a limb to help us and it worked out.
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Looks like you went out on a limb.
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But my wife went out on a limb for you.
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Do you really think this is the time to go out on a limb?
Fiction book (1998) -
Thank you for going out on a limb and allowing me one.
Fiction book (2001) -
No one really knows the results, but I will go out on a limb as well.
Blog text (5) -
I always try to go out on a limb, do something different.
Blog text (15) -
But I'll go out on a limb and say for the most part, the systems that we construct are very reliable.
Synonyms
412
3.8
Do something risky hoping to do well
326
3.2
Do things that might be dangerous to get something important
136
3.3
To do something risky hoping for a good result
20
5.7
Make a brave decision even when it feels risky
6
3.0
To do something that might lead to harm or loss
3
8.5
To try something risky when the result is not certain
1
7.3
To do something risky without knowing what will happen
1
7.2
To take a risk by saying or doing something that may get you in trouble
To take a big risk to help another person or group
Antonyms
How Risky
- Informal
2
8.2
326
3.2
- Informal
41
6.1
136
3.3
46
3.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase evokes a clear physical image — literally going out onto a tree limb is precarious — so a learner who knows 'go', 'out', 'on' and 'limb' can plausibly infer it means taking a risk. However, the meaning is a conventional metaphorical extension used in social/decision contexts rather than a fully compositional sense, so prior exposure helps and full predictability is limited.
Etymology
Go out on a limb may come from the image of someone climbing a tree and stepping out onto a thin limb away from the strong trunk, where it is easy to fall. So, to 'go out on a limb' means to 'take a risk' or to 'support an idea' in front of others.