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Glite Dictionary
to swing both ways

to swing both ways

1 8.3
To be attracted to both men and women or to like different things
  • idiom
  • NSFW
translation icon : ser bisexual
  • I'll always swing both ways, and I got a soft spot for redheads.

Could have been gay, could have been straight, could have swung both ways.

Examples

  • The pendulum swings both ways, you know, and it swung as far in my direction as it could, so it has no choice but to sway back to the other side.

    Blog text (9)

  • I had a friend who a girlfriend who swings both ways, mostly lesbian, but bisexual, wasn't it?

  • I have followed a similar path as these writers, and while I've left the left, I also realize that no one has all the answers and that pendulums must swing both ways.

    Blog text (28)

  • He is open about the fact that he swing both ways and has dated both men and women.

  • When it comes to relationships, she swing both ways, enjoying connections with people of all genders.

  • My friend mentioned that he might swing both ways after meeting someone he really connected with.

Antonyms

fixedness
7.8

Being firmly held in place so it does not move or change

Surface Forms

swing both ways infinitive
swinging both ways present participle
swings both ways third person singular
swung both ways past
swung both ways past participle

Morphology

swing + both + way

The components 'both' + 'ways' transparently signal two directions or options, giving a cue of duality or versatility, but the verb 'swing' must be read metaphorically (or as sexual slang) to yield the meaning 'be attracted to both men and women' or 'be adaptable'. Because the crucial sexual/figurative sense of 'swing' is not fully predictable from its basic meanings, a B1 learner who knows the constituents would likely only partially infer the MWE's sense without prior exposure.

Etymology

Swing both ways comes from the simple image of a swing moving both ways, left and right. Because the swing goes in two directions, the phrase came to mean someone who can go either way. That's why people use it to say someone is 'attracted to both men and women', or more generally 'flexible' or 'able to do different things'.