to swing for the fences
7
7.3
- idiom
- Informal
- To achieve great success in business, sometimes you have to swing for the fences and take big risks.
- swing for the fences and try
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Watch on YouTubeSo the tales of Silicon Valley are that you must swing for the fences.
- So the tales of Silicon Valley are that you must swing for the fences.
- So I'm not going to swing for the fences when I, when I, when I'm on tenuous ground, I want to make sure that I've got control of some things.
- If that's what swing for the fences, knock yourselves out.
- This man, if he wants to wear makeup, swing for the fences.
- OK, so you don't want you want to swing for the fences, you want to take a big risk.
Examples
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The company did swing for the fences last year when it acquired Boston Scientific's neurovascular business and Orthovita.
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Really swung for the fences, huh?
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Exactly, so I thought why not swing for the fences?
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I promise we'll swing for the fences on the next one.
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There was a real opportunity to just kind of swing for the fences and it was so much fun.
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For the UK, this is a time to swing for the fences.
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Bank's swinging for the fences on this one.
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The Bethesda family really is about swinging for the fences.
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You just can't have your entire lineup be guys who strike out a lot and swing for the fences.
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Barclay swung for the fences yesterday with 4 entries, coming close with Sky Blazer finishing 3rd in the Bernard.
Blog text (20)
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
41
6.1
To risk doing or saying something to support an idea
23
5.5
Decide to do something difficult or risky after thinking about it for a long time
20
5.7
Make a brave decision even when it feels risky
11
4.2
To do something risky hoping to get a good result
10
6.4
To risk everything to try to succeed
7
7.1
To try to do very big or difficult things to get what you want
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
7.2
Use all your energy and take big risks to test your skill
1
4.2
Try a risky action hoping it will work
1
7.3
To do something risky without knowing what will happen
1
5.8
To risk something valuable hoping to get a good result
Take a chance to get a reward
To make a big decision you cannot change that may be risky
Antonyms
How Risky
- Informal
2
8.2
- Informal
7
7.3
136
3.3
46
3.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal parts ('swing' + 'for the fences') suggest making a big physical swing toward the outfield boundary, so a learner can partly infer an attempt to achieve something big. However, the idiomatic extension from a baseball action to 'attempt something ambitious/risky' depends on cultural/sports knowledge and is not fully predictable from the words alone, so it is only partially transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
The phrase swing for the fences comes from baseball. In the game a batter makes a big swing to hit the ball over the fence for a home run. So it means 'to try something bold and risky to get a big reward'.