to go out on a limb
37
6.1
- idiom
- Informal
:
arriesgarse
- She decided to go out on a limb and support the controversial proposal at the meeting.
And 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
-
I'm going to go out on a limb and say vast improvement.
-
Come on, take a stand, go out on a limb, decide you're just going to do something wildly crazy and have an opinion.
-
Like people had to really go out on a limb to help us and it worked out.
-
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
91
3.3
To do something risky hoping for a good result
56
3.2
Do things that might be dangerous to get something important
36
3.8
Do something risky hoping to do well
22
7.2
To take a risk by saying or doing something that may get you in trouble
11
5.7
Make a brave decision even when it feels risky
2
3.0
To do something that might lead to harm or loss
1
9.9
To take a big risk to help another person or group
1
8.5
To try something risky when the result is not certain
1
7.3
To do something risky without knowing what will happen
Antonyms
How Risky
- Informal
1
8.2
56
3.2
- Informal
37
6.1
91
3.3
42
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.