both barrels
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
In reference to discharging both barrels of a double-barrelled shotgun simultaneously rather than one at a time.
Noun[edit]
- (informal, figuratively) The maximum damage that a weapon can deliver.
- to give someone both barrels
- to let someone have both barrels
- to hit someone with both barrels
References[edit]
- “give someone both barrels” (US) / “give someone both barrels” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.
- “let someone have both barrels”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.