out on a limb

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.) In reference to the risks of climbing out on the branch or limb of a tree.

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out on a limb

1. (figurative, idiomatic, often with the verb go) In a risky, precarious, daring, or uncompromising position, especially one outside of the mainstream; vulnerable.
   • For quotations using this term, see Citations:out on a limb.
   • 2022 November 30, Paul Bigland, “Destination Oban: a Sunday in Scotland”, in RAIL, number 971, page 79:

     Sitting on the dockside at Oban, watching the to-ing and fro-ing in the harbour on a perfect summer's eve, I reflect on a trip which has taken me through our busiest cities to traverse the country's main lines, as well as explore some of the furthest extremities that were literally out on a limb.

• go out on a limb

• stick one's neck out

• “out on a limb”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “out on a limb”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “out on a limb”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “out on a limb” (US) / “out on a limb” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.