swing for
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From the sense of "swing" meaning to be hung by the neck as capital punishment.
Verb
[edit]swing for (third-person singular simple present swings for, present participle swinging for, simple past and past participle swung for)
- (informal, hyperbolic) To be punished severely.
- To be hanged for a crime.
- Swing for someone: To be hanged for murdering someone.
- I'll swing for him, when I get out. Katherine Lynch reported in “Minor Matters: Willing to "Swing for Him."”, in Weekly Mail[1], Cardiff, 1908 June 20, page 10