come out swinging

An allusion to the behavior of a boxer who immediately begins a boxing match or a round of a match by aggressively throwing punches in an unrestrained manner.

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come out swinging (third-person singular simple present comes out swinging, present participle coming out swinging, simple past came out swinging, past participle come out swinging)

1. (idiomatic) To initiate an encounter or interaction by behaving in an unrestrainedly aggressive, confrontational, or accusatory manner.
   • 1972 February 1, “Kuhn Blasts Rozelle's Poll”, in Sarasota Herald-Tribune, page C1:

     New York baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn, rolling up his sleeves and coming out swinging for the first time Monday, bluntly told Pete Rozelle to quit "kidding the people" about football being the nation's no. 1 sport.

   • 2002 February 25, J. F. O. McAllistair, “Blair the Bungee Jumper”, in Time:

     So ingrained is the instinct for massive retaliation that Downing St. came out swinging before mastering the facts.

2. (idiomatic) To display spunk and strength of character, especially when rising above or when fighting back against trouble or adversity.
   • 1967 February 26, Paul H. Dougherty, “Advertising: Oldest Agency Thinking Young”, in New York Times, page F16:

     There's ferment is Philadelphia where the ad agency with the oldest name in the business after a very bad year is picking itself up and coming out swinging.

   • 2009, Julie Miller, chapter 9, in Out of Control, →ISBN:

     She'd endured cruelty and grief and still came out swinging.

• come back swinging