out on a limb
54
7.0
- idiom
- Informal
:
arriesgarse
- On the third attempt, my family went out on a limb to make the dream come true.
- go out on a limb
It's easier to put yourself out on a limb if you're younger.
- It's easier to put yourself out on a limb if you're younger.
- 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, you know, you think about going out on a limb and having it chopped behind you while you're out there.
- 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.
- 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.
Examples
-
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) -
Looks like you went out on a limb.
-
I went out on a limb.
-
But my wife went out on a limb for you.
-
OK, I'm going out on a limb here for my guess.
-
But I'll go out on a limb and say for the most part, the systems that we construct are very reliable.
-
Because if I'm gonna go out on a limb for you, you gotta know what's involved.
-
- I went out on a limb for you, Paula.
-
He went out on a limb by proposing a radical change to the project, leaving himself without support.
Synonyms
15
7.7
Very close to failure or defeat with little chance to recover
8
8.2
Left without help at an important time
7
7.9
Helpless and unable to act because someone else is in control
In a very risky situation where failure can happen at any moment
In a risky situation that could end badly
Antonyms
How Risky
12
2.8
54
4.4
47
7.6
- Informal
54
7.0
581
4.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is clearly motivated by the literal image of being 'out on a limb' (standing on a tree branch), which maps onto being in a precarious or risky position, so a learner who knows 'out', 'on' and 'limb' can plausibly infer the metaphorical sense. However, this mapping requires a metaphorical inference and knowledge of the relevant sense of 'limb', so the relation is not fully predictable for a B1 learner without prior exposure.
Etymology
Out on a limb The idiom may come from the picture of someone standing on a thin tree limb, far from the strong trunk and with little support. So, to be out on a limb means to be 'in a risky position' or 'without support'.