shot from the hip

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

As a mother, she wrote in her second book, “most of the time I shot from the hip, making it up as I went along.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026

These tended to be wide-ranging and opinionated; he shot from the hip.

From New York Times • May 20, 2023

Mr. Frank’s gritty, irregularly cropped images — seemingly shot from the hip or on the run — became the model for a generation of photographers such as Lee Friedlander, Nan Goldin and Garry Winogrand.

From Washington Post • Sep. 10, 2019

“I shot from the hip, but it worked because we had a good team,” Ferragamo said.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 10, 2016

Mahoney shot from the hip and his stabbing ray splashed full on the hunchback's chest—but harmlessly.

From The Copper-Clad World by Vincent, Harl