come out swinging

also come out fighting

to strongly defend yourself or something you believe in Both candidates came out swinging in the televised debate Sunday night.

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Fedya	-	Russian
Sophocles	SAHF-u-kleez (English)	Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Chester	CHES-tər	English
Sosigenes	-	Ancient Greek
Bryson	['braisn]
Ulli	-	German