let fly

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let fly (third-person singular simple present lets fly, present participle letting fly, simple past and past participle let fly)

1. (idiomatic, intransitive) To strike or release a projectile with great force.
   • 1938 April, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapter III, in Homage to Catalonia, London: Secker & Warburg, →OCLC:

     One evening when it was barely even dusk a sentry let fly at me from a distance of twenty yards; but he missed me by a yard—goodness knows how many times the Spanish standard of marksmanship has saved my life.

   • 2011 October 29, Neil Johnston, “Norwich 3 - 3 Blackburn”, in BBC Sport‎:

     Norwich were back on level terms through an equally stunning finish by Morison in the 53rd minute, the former Millwall player letting fly from the edge of the area after being teed-up by Leon Barnett.

2. (figurative) To unleash an angry outburst.
   • 1959, Anthony Burgess, Beds in the East (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 498:

     Rosemary peeled off Sloane Square, Hartnell, decorations-will-be-worn, fog primroses, crumpets by the fire, and let fly vulgarly at Vythilingam.

   • 1984 August 11, Merle Woo, “Revolutionary Optimism—The Order of the Day”, in Gay Community News, volume 12, number 5, page 5:

     Jammed onto a narrow, steep sidewalk, police barricades all around, we march with placards, drums, and angry spirit: "The Moral Majority, cops and Klan. Work together hand in hand." — helmeted tac squad on horses, Hondas, facing us on Powell Street, itching to wield their billy clubs, waiting for any excuse to let fly.

   She was furious and let fly at him with a string of obscenities.