swing for

English

Etymology

From the sense of "swing" meaning to be hung by the neck as capital punishment.

Verb

swing for (third-person singular simple present swings for, present participle swinging for, simple past and past participle swung for)

1. (informal, hyperbolic) To be punished severely.
2. To be hanged for a crime.
3. 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, Cardiff, 20 June 1908, page 10

Anagrams

• forswing