From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
fling
n 1: a usually brief attempt; "he took a crack at it"; "I gave it
a whirl" [syn: crack, go, pass, whirl, offer]
2: a brief indulgence of your impulses [syn: spree]
3: the act of flinging
v 1: throw with force or recklessness; "fling the frisbee"
2: move in an abrupt or headlong manner; "He flung himself onto
the sofa"
3: indulge oneself; "I splurged on a new TV" [syn: splurge]
4: throw or cast away; "Put away your worries" [syn: discard,
toss, toss out, toss away, chuck out, {cast
aside}, dispose, throw out, cast out, throw away,
cast away, put away]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Fling \Fling\ (fl[i^]ng), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Flung
(fl[u^]ng); p. pr. & vb. n. Flinging.] [OE. flingen,
flengen, to rush, hurl; cf. Icel. flengia to whip, ride
furiously, OSw. flenga to strike, Sw. fl[aum]nga to romp,
Dan. flenge to slash.]
1. To cast, send, to throw from the hand; to hurl; to dart;
to emit with violence as if thrown from the hand; as, to
fing a stone into the pond.
[1913 Webster]
'T is Fate that flings the dice: and, as she flings,
Of kings makes peasants, and of peasants kings.
--Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
He . . . like Jove, his lighting flung. --Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
I know thy generous temper well.
Fling but the appearance of dishonor on it,
It straight takes fire. --Addison.
[1913 Webster]
2. To shed forth; to emit; to scatter.
[1913 Webster]
The sun begins to fling
His flaring beams. --Milton.
[1913 Webster]
Every beam new transient colors flings. --Pope.
[1913 Webster]
3. To throw; to hurl; to throw off or down; to prostrate;
hence, to baffle; to defeat; as, to fling a party in
litigation.
[1913 Webster]
His horse started, flung him, and fell upon him.
--Walpole.
[1913 Webster]
To fling about, to throw on all sides; to scatter.
To fling away, to reject; to discard.
[1913 Webster]
Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition.
--Shak.
To fling down.
(a) To throw to the ground; esp., to throw in defiance, as
formerly knights cast a glove into the arena as a
challenge.
[1913 Webster]
This question so flung down before the guests, .
. .
Was handed over by consent of all
To me who had not spoken. --Tennyson.
(b) To overturn; to demolish; to ruin.
To fling in, to throw in; not to charge in an account; as,
in settling accounts, one party flings in a small sum, or
a few days' work.
To fling off, to baffle in the chase; to defeat of prey;
also, to get rid of. --Addison.
To fling open, to throw open; to open suddenly or with
violence; as, to fling open a door.
To fling out, to utter; to speak in an abrupt or harsh
manner; as, to fling out hard words against another.
To fling up, to relinquish; to abandon; as, to fling up a
design.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Fling \Fling\, n.
1. A cast from the hand; a throw; also, a flounce; a kick;
as, the fling of a horse.
[1913 Webster]
2. A severe or contemptuous remark; an expression of
sarcastic scorn; a gibe; a sarcasm.
[1913 Webster]
I, who love to have a fling,
Both at senate house and king. --Swift.
[1913 Webster]
3. A kind of dance; as, the Highland fling.
[1913 Webster]
4. A trifing matter; an object of contempt. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
England were but a fling
Save for the crooked stick and the gray goose wing.
--Old Proverb.
[1913 Webster]
5. a short period during which one indulges one's wishes,
whims, or desires in an unrestrained manner.
[PJC]
6. a love affair.
[PJC]
7. a casual or brief attempt to accomplish something.
[informal]
Syn: shot.
[PJC]
8. a period during which one tries a new activity; as, he
took a fling at playing tennis.
[PJC]
To have one's fling, to enjoy one's self to the full; to
have a season of dissipation. --J. H. Newman. "When I was
as young as you, I had my fling. I led a life of
pleasure." --D. Jerrold.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Fling \Fling\, v. i.
1. To throw; to wince; to flounce; as, the horse began to
kick and fling.
[1913 Webster]
2. To cast in the teeth; to utter abusive language; to sneer;
as, the scold began to flout and fling.
[1913 Webster]
3. To throw one's self in a violent or hasty manner; to rush
or spring with violence or haste.
[1913 Webster]
And crop-full, out of doors he flings. --Milton.
[1913 Webster]
I flung closer to his breast,
As sword that, after battle, flings to sheath.
--Mrs.
Browning.
[1913 Webster]
To fling out, to become ugly and intractable; to utter
sneers and insinuations.
[1913 Webster]