shoot (redirected from shot the bull)

fire/shoot blanks (humorous)

if a man is firing blanks, there is no sperm (= the cells which combine with the female's egg to start life) in his semen (= the liquid produced in the male sexual organs). They had a series of fertility tests done and found out that basically Tony was firing blanks. (usually in continuous tenses)

See also: blank, fire

give/shoot someone a dirty look

to look at someone in an angry way. I didn't know what I'd said that was so offensive but she gave me a really dirty look.

See also: dirty, give, look

shoot your bolt

to use all your energy trying to do something, so that you do not have enough energy left to finish it. By the end of the third lap it was obvious that she had shot her bolt, and the Canadian runner took the lead. (never in continuous tenses)

See also: bolt

shoot something/someone down in flames (informal)

to strongly criticize an idea or plan, or to refuse to accept it. Several months ago this highly impractical idea would have been shot down in flames. I thought I'd made a sensible suggestion, but they just shot me down in flames.

See also: down, flame

shoot from the hip

to react to a situation very quickly and with a lot of force, without thinking about the possible effects of your actions. His critics accuse him of shooting from the hip when challenged.

See also: from, hip

shoot yourself in the foot

to do or say something stupid which causes problems for you. He shot himself in the foot by suggesting that women politicians were incompetent.

See also: foot

shoot your load (very informal)

if a man shoots his load, semen (= thick liquid containing a man's seed) comes out of his penis. Man, I was so hot, I was ready to shoot my load!

See also: load

shoot your mouth off (very informal)

to talk too much, especially about something you should not talk about. Don't go shooting your mouth off about how much money you're earning. (often + about)

See also: mouth

shoot straight (American)

a straight shooter - someone who you can trust because they are very honest. Marvin will shoot straight (= be honest) with you. He's a good guy to do business with.

See also: straight

shoot the breeze/bull (American, informal)

to talk in a relaxed way about things that are not important. We sat out on the porch until late, just shooting the breeze.

See also: breeze, bull

shoot the messenger (humorous)

to blame or punish the person who tells you about something bad that has happened instead of the person who is responsible for it. And now for tomorrow's weather - it's going to be cold, wet and stormy, but don't shoot the messenger!

shoot the works (American, informal)

to spend all your money or to use as much effort as possible to do something. I could shoot the works on a round the world trip. (usually + on) They shot the works on their daughter's wedding.

See also: work

shoot your wad

1. to spend or use everything that you have. He's going to shoot his wad on his night out - whatever it costs for a good time.

2. to say everything that you want to say about a particular subject. Our opponents shot their wad at the meeting and left everyone in no doubt that they would oppose our plans.

3. if a man shoots his wad, semen (= thick liquid containing a man's seed) comes out of his penis. He shot his wad as soon as she took her blouse off.

a turkey shoot (mainly American)

if a fight or a war is a turkey shoot, one side is certain to be completely defeated because the other side is much stronger. Their aircraft destroyed every military camp in a three-day turkey shoot.

See also: turkey

the whole shooting match (informal)

the whole of something, including everything that is connected with it. There are four projects at present and Gerry's in charge of the whole shooting match.

See also: match, whole

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shoot daggers at someone

to look very angrily at someone. I put a cigarette in my mouth and saw her shooting daggers at me from all the way across the room.

See also: dagger

shoot down something

1. to destroy an aircraft or weapon in the sky by shooting it. In the movie, he pulls out a portable rocket launcher and shoots down the helicopter. If we detect an incoming missile, we must be able to shoot it down.

2. to refuse to accept something. The baseball owners shot down a plan to add two more teams to each league. At a public meeting, residents shot down two different designs for rebuilding the area.

See also: down

shoot for something

to try to achieve something. Tennessee's women's basketball team is shooting for another season of straight victories.

shoot from the hip

to react quickly without considering the possible effects. He works slowly and methodically while she jumps quickly into projects and shoots from the hip, but they make a good team.

See also: from, hip

shoot hoops

to play the game of basketball. Sometimes we stopped off at the gym after school and shot some hoops.

See also: hoop

shoot yourself in the foot

to do or say something that causes problems for you. My brother has shot himself in the foot twice by turning down buyers for his house.

See also: foot

shoot your mouth off

to talk too much or without thinking about something. Don't go shooting your mouth off about how much money you're earning.

See also: mouth

shoot the breeze

to have a relaxed conversation. Hank and his pals spend a lot of time drinking beer, shooting the breeze, and thinking about girls.

See also: breeze

shoot up

1. to increase very quickly in size or amount. The boy shot up two inches over the summer. Temperatures shot up into the mid-90s today. With new technology, productivity shot up.

2. to rise quickly and forcefully. Flames were shooting up from the burning house.

shoot up something

1. to fire guns, causing great damage to a place. Old western movies usually have a scene where some bad guys ride in and shoot up the town.

2. to take an illegal drug by using a needle. Some athletes are suspected of shooting up steroids to improve their strength.

Usage notes: also used in the form shoot someone up give someone a drug by using a needle: Jim was the first one to shoot me up with heroin.