What is an equivalent phrase to “to shoot one's wad” when referring to using up all of your “ammo”,...





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The phrase to "shoot your wad" is an old phrase meaning to use or overuse something too early. The phrase was used recently by an older US senator and it was misinterpreted by many as having sexual connotations.



Seeing as it obviously has sexual connotations to many, what are some better phrases that mean the same thing?



An example sentence might be, "The Democrats didn't have much credibility when it came to opposing the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh, as they had already shot their wad when opposing earlier, much less controversial candidates."










share|improve this question









New contributor




Kyle is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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  • It's not an expression I recognise, I like the suggestion by @HotLicks that it's a gambling metaphor but I do wonder whether it comes from the days of muzzle loading firearms where fabric wadding was used to keep the gunpowder in place. If you 'shot your wad' it might mean that you would have used up all your balls and continued to shoot for effect even though you had only powder and wadding left.

    – BoldBen
    2 days ago











  • @BoldBen - I Ngrammed the term and the earliest (rather ambiguous) gun reference I found was about 10 years earlier than the first references, which were more along the lines of "exhausted" or "used up" in a more general sense. And it occurred to me that a "wad" is a wad of chewing tobacco, so "shoot one's wad" may refer to spitting out a wad of used-up tobacco.

    – Hot Licks
    2 days ago






  • 1





    Asking for a list of phrases is not a useful question for this site. You can ask for the etymology of the phrase you've given—or you can ask for a specific phrase that means the same thing, but (for some clearly defined reason) is an objectively better phrase. All of this assumes that there will be a single answer that you would be able to pick as the correct answer. But simply wanting other phrases is too broad.

    – Jason Bassford
    2 days ago













  • @JasonBassford Seems to me like you are straining the rules just enough to find a reason to opine on this question. My reason for needing a better phrase was clearly outlined in the question. I edited my question title from "What are some" to "What is an" anyway. But it seems to me that asking for a single phrase is an even worse question since any number of phrases could subjectively be better. A correct answer would provide a few phrases that mean the same thing and still match the criteria.

    – Kyle
    yesterday













  • Oops!! Above I meant that the gun references were ten years later than the more generic uses.

    – Hot Licks
    yesterday


















-1















The phrase to "shoot your wad" is an old phrase meaning to use or overuse something too early. The phrase was used recently by an older US senator and it was misinterpreted by many as having sexual connotations.



Seeing as it obviously has sexual connotations to many, what are some better phrases that mean the same thing?



An example sentence might be, "The Democrats didn't have much credibility when it came to opposing the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh, as they had already shot their wad when opposing earlier, much less controversial candidates."










share|improve this question









New contributor




Kyle is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.





















  • It's not an expression I recognise, I like the suggestion by @HotLicks that it's a gambling metaphor but I do wonder whether it comes from the days of muzzle loading firearms where fabric wadding was used to keep the gunpowder in place. If you 'shot your wad' it might mean that you would have used up all your balls and continued to shoot for effect even though you had only powder and wadding left.

    – BoldBen
    2 days ago











  • @BoldBen - I Ngrammed the term and the earliest (rather ambiguous) gun reference I found was about 10 years earlier than the first references, which were more along the lines of "exhausted" or "used up" in a more general sense. And it occurred to me that a "wad" is a wad of chewing tobacco, so "shoot one's wad" may refer to spitting out a wad of used-up tobacco.

    – Hot Licks
    2 days ago






  • 1





    Asking for a list of phrases is not a useful question for this site. You can ask for the etymology of the phrase you've given—or you can ask for a specific phrase that means the same thing, but (for some clearly defined reason) is an objectively better phrase. All of this assumes that there will be a single answer that you would be able to pick as the correct answer. But simply wanting other phrases is too broad.

    – Jason Bassford
    2 days ago













  • @JasonBassford Seems to me like you are straining the rules just enough to find a reason to opine on this question. My reason for needing a better phrase was clearly outlined in the question. I edited my question title from "What are some" to "What is an" anyway. But it seems to me that asking for a single phrase is an even worse question since any number of phrases could subjectively be better. A correct answer would provide a few phrases that mean the same thing and still match the criteria.

    – Kyle
    yesterday













  • Oops!! Above I meant that the gun references were ten years later than the more generic uses.

    – Hot Licks
    yesterday














-1












-1








-1








The phrase to "shoot your wad" is an old phrase meaning to use or overuse something too early. The phrase was used recently by an older US senator and it was misinterpreted by many as having sexual connotations.



Seeing as it obviously has sexual connotations to many, what are some better phrases that mean the same thing?



An example sentence might be, "The Democrats didn't have much credibility when it came to opposing the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh, as they had already shot their wad when opposing earlier, much less controversial candidates."










share|improve this question









New contributor




Kyle is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.












The phrase to "shoot your wad" is an old phrase meaning to use or overuse something too early. The phrase was used recently by an older US senator and it was misinterpreted by many as having sexual connotations.



Seeing as it obviously has sexual connotations to many, what are some better phrases that mean the same thing?



An example sentence might be, "The Democrats didn't have much credibility when it came to opposing the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh, as they had already shot their wad when opposing earlier, much less controversial candidates."







phrase-requests






share|improve this question









New contributor




Kyle is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











share|improve this question









New contributor




Kyle is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited yesterday







Kyle













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asked Apr 16 at 0:10









KyleKyle

71




71




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New contributor





Kyle is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.






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Check out our Code of Conduct.













  • It's not an expression I recognise, I like the suggestion by @HotLicks that it's a gambling metaphor but I do wonder whether it comes from the days of muzzle loading firearms where fabric wadding was used to keep the gunpowder in place. If you 'shot your wad' it might mean that you would have used up all your balls and continued to shoot for effect even though you had only powder and wadding left.

    – BoldBen
    2 days ago











  • @BoldBen - I Ngrammed the term and the earliest (rather ambiguous) gun reference I found was about 10 years earlier than the first references, which were more along the lines of "exhausted" or "used up" in a more general sense. And it occurred to me that a "wad" is a wad of chewing tobacco, so "shoot one's wad" may refer to spitting out a wad of used-up tobacco.

    – Hot Licks
    2 days ago






  • 1





    Asking for a list of phrases is not a useful question for this site. You can ask for the etymology of the phrase you've given—or you can ask for a specific phrase that means the same thing, but (for some clearly defined reason) is an objectively better phrase. All of this assumes that there will be a single answer that you would be able to pick as the correct answer. But simply wanting other phrases is too broad.

    – Jason Bassford
    2 days ago













  • @JasonBassford Seems to me like you are straining the rules just enough to find a reason to opine on this question. My reason for needing a better phrase was clearly outlined in the question. I edited my question title from "What are some" to "What is an" anyway. But it seems to me that asking for a single phrase is an even worse question since any number of phrases could subjectively be better. A correct answer would provide a few phrases that mean the same thing and still match the criteria.

    – Kyle
    yesterday













  • Oops!! Above I meant that the gun references were ten years later than the more generic uses.

    – Hot Licks
    yesterday



















  • It's not an expression I recognise, I like the suggestion by @HotLicks that it's a gambling metaphor but I do wonder whether it comes from the days of muzzle loading firearms where fabric wadding was used to keep the gunpowder in place. If you 'shot your wad' it might mean that you would have used up all your balls and continued to shoot for effect even though you had only powder and wadding left.

    – BoldBen
    2 days ago











  • @BoldBen - I Ngrammed the term and the earliest (rather ambiguous) gun reference I found was about 10 years earlier than the first references, which were more along the lines of "exhausted" or "used up" in a more general sense. And it occurred to me that a "wad" is a wad of chewing tobacco, so "shoot one's wad" may refer to spitting out a wad of used-up tobacco.

    – Hot Licks
    2 days ago






  • 1





    Asking for a list of phrases is not a useful question for this site. You can ask for the etymology of the phrase you've given—or you can ask for a specific phrase that means the same thing, but (for some clearly defined reason) is an objectively better phrase. All of this assumes that there will be a single answer that you would be able to pick as the correct answer. But simply wanting other phrases is too broad.

    – Jason Bassford
    2 days ago













  • @JasonBassford Seems to me like you are straining the rules just enough to find a reason to opine on this question. My reason for needing a better phrase was clearly outlined in the question. I edited my question title from "What are some" to "What is an" anyway. But it seems to me that asking for a single phrase is an even worse question since any number of phrases could subjectively be better. A correct answer would provide a few phrases that mean the same thing and still match the criteria.

    – Kyle
    yesterday













  • Oops!! Above I meant that the gun references were ten years later than the more generic uses.

    – Hot Licks
    yesterday

















It's not an expression I recognise, I like the suggestion by @HotLicks that it's a gambling metaphor but I do wonder whether it comes from the days of muzzle loading firearms where fabric wadding was used to keep the gunpowder in place. If you 'shot your wad' it might mean that you would have used up all your balls and continued to shoot for effect even though you had only powder and wadding left.

– BoldBen
2 days ago





It's not an expression I recognise, I like the suggestion by @HotLicks that it's a gambling metaphor but I do wonder whether it comes from the days of muzzle loading firearms where fabric wadding was used to keep the gunpowder in place. If you 'shot your wad' it might mean that you would have used up all your balls and continued to shoot for effect even though you had only powder and wadding left.

– BoldBen
2 days ago













@BoldBen - I Ngrammed the term and the earliest (rather ambiguous) gun reference I found was about 10 years earlier than the first references, which were more along the lines of "exhausted" or "used up" in a more general sense. And it occurred to me that a "wad" is a wad of chewing tobacco, so "shoot one's wad" may refer to spitting out a wad of used-up tobacco.

– Hot Licks
2 days ago





@BoldBen - I Ngrammed the term and the earliest (rather ambiguous) gun reference I found was about 10 years earlier than the first references, which were more along the lines of "exhausted" or "used up" in a more general sense. And it occurred to me that a "wad" is a wad of chewing tobacco, so "shoot one's wad" may refer to spitting out a wad of used-up tobacco.

– Hot Licks
2 days ago




1




1





Asking for a list of phrases is not a useful question for this site. You can ask for the etymology of the phrase you've given—or you can ask for a specific phrase that means the same thing, but (for some clearly defined reason) is an objectively better phrase. All of this assumes that there will be a single answer that you would be able to pick as the correct answer. But simply wanting other phrases is too broad.

– Jason Bassford
2 days ago







Asking for a list of phrases is not a useful question for this site. You can ask for the etymology of the phrase you've given—or you can ask for a specific phrase that means the same thing, but (for some clearly defined reason) is an objectively better phrase. All of this assumes that there will be a single answer that you would be able to pick as the correct answer. But simply wanting other phrases is too broad.

– Jason Bassford
2 days ago















@JasonBassford Seems to me like you are straining the rules just enough to find a reason to opine on this question. My reason for needing a better phrase was clearly outlined in the question. I edited my question title from "What are some" to "What is an" anyway. But it seems to me that asking for a single phrase is an even worse question since any number of phrases could subjectively be better. A correct answer would provide a few phrases that mean the same thing and still match the criteria.

– Kyle
yesterday







@JasonBassford Seems to me like you are straining the rules just enough to find a reason to opine on this question. My reason for needing a better phrase was clearly outlined in the question. I edited my question title from "What are some" to "What is an" anyway. But it seems to me that asking for a single phrase is an even worse question since any number of phrases could subjectively be better. A correct answer would provide a few phrases that mean the same thing and still match the criteria.

– Kyle
yesterday















Oops!! Above I meant that the gun references were ten years later than the more generic uses.

– Hot Licks
yesterday





Oops!! Above I meant that the gun references were ten years later than the more generic uses.

– Hot Licks
yesterday










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















0














"Blow your bankroll" might be an alternative.



PokerKing:




What is a "bankroll" in poker? What is the definition of the term
"bankroll" in poker?



In poker, a "bankroll" is the amount of money that a person has
allocated to play poker with.



Definition of Bankroll - Poker Dictionary - Illustration of Dollar
BillsFor instance - let's say that you are a young (21 years old)
poker player who grinds $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em games online. In
order to be properly bankrolled, you would need a minimum of $10,000
set aside in your "bankroll" to comfortably play at that level.



You have a total of $20,000 set aside as your poker "bankroll". You
also have $10,000 set aside for living expenses, which you have vowed
not to use to play poker with.



A professional poker player should have a certain amount of money set
aside (usually six months worth of expenses) for living expenses.



The problem that many players have is that their living expenses and
poker bankroll are intermingled, and they play with both their living
expenses and poker bankroll money. This leads to situations where
players "go broke" and need to borrow money just to continue paying
their expenses, let alone play poker.




"Bet the farm" is another option.



Urban Dictionary:




To put up everything you have, while gambling in a card game.



Mike bluffed with his ace high and bet the farm losing everything.







share|improve this answer































    -2














    These I would say are idiomatic expressions with the intended meaning:




    have shot one's bolt



    have used up all one's ammunition




    These main the opposite:




    have a last bolt left in one's quiver



    have a last arrow left in one's quiver



    have (one) last shot left







    share|improve this answer
























      Your Answer








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      2 Answers
      2






      active

      oldest

      votes








      2 Answers
      2






      active

      oldest

      votes









      active

      oldest

      votes






      active

      oldest

      votes









      0














      "Blow your bankroll" might be an alternative.



      PokerKing:




      What is a "bankroll" in poker? What is the definition of the term
      "bankroll" in poker?



      In poker, a "bankroll" is the amount of money that a person has
      allocated to play poker with.



      Definition of Bankroll - Poker Dictionary - Illustration of Dollar
      BillsFor instance - let's say that you are a young (21 years old)
      poker player who grinds $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em games online. In
      order to be properly bankrolled, you would need a minimum of $10,000
      set aside in your "bankroll" to comfortably play at that level.



      You have a total of $20,000 set aside as your poker "bankroll". You
      also have $10,000 set aside for living expenses, which you have vowed
      not to use to play poker with.



      A professional poker player should have a certain amount of money set
      aside (usually six months worth of expenses) for living expenses.



      The problem that many players have is that their living expenses and
      poker bankroll are intermingled, and they play with both their living
      expenses and poker bankroll money. This leads to situations where
      players "go broke" and need to borrow money just to continue paying
      their expenses, let alone play poker.




      "Bet the farm" is another option.



      Urban Dictionary:




      To put up everything you have, while gambling in a card game.



      Mike bluffed with his ace high and bet the farm losing everything.







      share|improve this answer




























        0














        "Blow your bankroll" might be an alternative.



        PokerKing:




        What is a "bankroll" in poker? What is the definition of the term
        "bankroll" in poker?



        In poker, a "bankroll" is the amount of money that a person has
        allocated to play poker with.



        Definition of Bankroll - Poker Dictionary - Illustration of Dollar
        BillsFor instance - let's say that you are a young (21 years old)
        poker player who grinds $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em games online. In
        order to be properly bankrolled, you would need a minimum of $10,000
        set aside in your "bankroll" to comfortably play at that level.



        You have a total of $20,000 set aside as your poker "bankroll". You
        also have $10,000 set aside for living expenses, which you have vowed
        not to use to play poker with.



        A professional poker player should have a certain amount of money set
        aside (usually six months worth of expenses) for living expenses.



        The problem that many players have is that their living expenses and
        poker bankroll are intermingled, and they play with both their living
        expenses and poker bankroll money. This leads to situations where
        players "go broke" and need to borrow money just to continue paying
        their expenses, let alone play poker.




        "Bet the farm" is another option.



        Urban Dictionary:




        To put up everything you have, while gambling in a card game.



        Mike bluffed with his ace high and bet the farm losing everything.







        share|improve this answer


























          0












          0








          0







          "Blow your bankroll" might be an alternative.



          PokerKing:




          What is a "bankroll" in poker? What is the definition of the term
          "bankroll" in poker?



          In poker, a "bankroll" is the amount of money that a person has
          allocated to play poker with.



          Definition of Bankroll - Poker Dictionary - Illustration of Dollar
          BillsFor instance - let's say that you are a young (21 years old)
          poker player who grinds $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em games online. In
          order to be properly bankrolled, you would need a minimum of $10,000
          set aside in your "bankroll" to comfortably play at that level.



          You have a total of $20,000 set aside as your poker "bankroll". You
          also have $10,000 set aside for living expenses, which you have vowed
          not to use to play poker with.



          A professional poker player should have a certain amount of money set
          aside (usually six months worth of expenses) for living expenses.



          The problem that many players have is that their living expenses and
          poker bankroll are intermingled, and they play with both their living
          expenses and poker bankroll money. This leads to situations where
          players "go broke" and need to borrow money just to continue paying
          their expenses, let alone play poker.




          "Bet the farm" is another option.



          Urban Dictionary:




          To put up everything you have, while gambling in a card game.



          Mike bluffed with his ace high and bet the farm losing everything.







          share|improve this answer













          "Blow your bankroll" might be an alternative.



          PokerKing:




          What is a "bankroll" in poker? What is the definition of the term
          "bankroll" in poker?



          In poker, a "bankroll" is the amount of money that a person has
          allocated to play poker with.



          Definition of Bankroll - Poker Dictionary - Illustration of Dollar
          BillsFor instance - let's say that you are a young (21 years old)
          poker player who grinds $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em games online. In
          order to be properly bankrolled, you would need a minimum of $10,000
          set aside in your "bankroll" to comfortably play at that level.



          You have a total of $20,000 set aside as your poker "bankroll". You
          also have $10,000 set aside for living expenses, which you have vowed
          not to use to play poker with.



          A professional poker player should have a certain amount of money set
          aside (usually six months worth of expenses) for living expenses.



          The problem that many players have is that their living expenses and
          poker bankroll are intermingled, and they play with both their living
          expenses and poker bankroll money. This leads to situations where
          players "go broke" and need to borrow money just to continue paying
          their expenses, let alone play poker.




          "Bet the farm" is another option.



          Urban Dictionary:




          To put up everything you have, while gambling in a card game.



          Mike bluffed with his ace high and bet the farm losing everything.








          share|improve this answer












          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer










          answered yesterday









          Hot LicksHot Licks

          19.7k23778




          19.7k23778

























              -2














              These I would say are idiomatic expressions with the intended meaning:




              have shot one's bolt



              have used up all one's ammunition




              These main the opposite:




              have a last bolt left in one's quiver



              have a last arrow left in one's quiver



              have (one) last shot left







              share|improve this answer




























                -2














                These I would say are idiomatic expressions with the intended meaning:




                have shot one's bolt



                have used up all one's ammunition




                These main the opposite:




                have a last bolt left in one's quiver



                have a last arrow left in one's quiver



                have (one) last shot left







                share|improve this answer


























                  -2












                  -2








                  -2







                  These I would say are idiomatic expressions with the intended meaning:




                  have shot one's bolt



                  have used up all one's ammunition




                  These main the opposite:




                  have a last bolt left in one's quiver



                  have a last arrow left in one's quiver



                  have (one) last shot left







                  share|improve this answer













                  These I would say are idiomatic expressions with the intended meaning:




                  have shot one's bolt



                  have used up all one's ammunition




                  These main the opposite:




                  have a last bolt left in one's quiver



                  have a last arrow left in one's quiver



                  have (one) last shot left








                  share|improve this answer












                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer










                  answered Apr 16 at 0:56









                  CerberusCerberus

                  54.5k2121210




                  54.5k2121210






















                      Kyle is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.










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