shoot from the lip

English

Etymology

Humorous variant of shoot from the hip.

Pronunciation

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Verb

shoot from the lip (third-person singular simple present shoots from the lip, present participle shooting from the lip, simple past and past participle shot from the lip)

1. (idiomatic) To speak confidently and unhesitantly but without careful forethought or a reliable knowledge of important facts pertaining to the subject matter.
   • 1967 June 20, “Television: Mothers' Brothers”, in Time, retrieved 10 May 2018:

     [A] pair of suburban slickers […] made the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour the most popular new TV show of the season. They did it by shooting from the lip, dauntlessly laying down a crossfire of patter that is often more fizzle than sizzle.

   • 1983 September 30, James F. Clarity, Warren Weaver Jr., “Briefing”, in New York Times, retrieved 10 May 2018:

     In a letter to Mr. Watt this week, Mr. Quitberg suggested that the Secetary had been shooting from the lip again. "You have never met me and until that moment had undoubtedly never heard of me," he wrote.

   • 2004 January 12, Jay Parini, “US elections 2004: The real Howard Dean”, in Guardian, UK, retrieved 10 May 2018:

     He is, as most Americans have now gathered, a blunt fellow, prone to shoot from the lip. He often speaks before he thinks.

   • 2009 December 19, Linda Diebel, “Boom times for PMO's God squad”, in The Star, Canada, retrieved 10 May 2018:

     Darrel Reid used to shoot from the lip. Few Canadian evangelists can match his record for the controversial quote, whether accusing single moms of using welfare to have babies or likening hate crime laws protecting gays and lesbians to Nazi tyranny.

Synonyms

• shoot one's mouth off

See also

• mouth off
• shoot first and ask questions later