Rate this phrase:0.0 / 0 votes

draw first blood

referring to the first participant(s) in a game, contest, debate, etc. to gain an advantage over their opponent; to score first points in any competition

Etymology:

  • Used since the 17th century to figuratively mean, first to score, it obviously alludes to the first shedding of blood in a sword fight, or the initial wound or casualty in any physical skirmish or conflict.
25 Views
“

Scoreless for nearly two periods, the Swedish team drew first blood to break the tie in the hockey game.

Collection   Edit    

Submitted by JokerGem on January 16, 2023

Modified by JokerGem on January 16, 2023

Translation

Find a translation for the draw first blood phrase in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to draw first blood

draw awaydraw downdraw ondraw offdraw backdraw one's last breathdraw ondraw outdraw stumpsdraw ondraw indraw indraw backdraw back

How to pronounce this phrase?

Discuss this draw first blood phrase with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this draw first blood definition to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "draw first blood." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 22 Dec. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/draw-first-blood_63287>.

    Powered by CITE.ME Cite.Me

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest human-edited phrases collection on the web!

    Quiz

    Are you a phrases master?

    »
    She looked like a _________ in headlights.
    A deer
    B horse
    C chicken
    D duck

    Browse Phrases.com

    #ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ