take a whack at someone/something

tv. to hit at someone or something. Jerry got an ax and took a whack at the tree but didn’t do much damage.

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Virginie	veer-zhee-NEE	French
Dominique	do-mee-NEEK	French
Hershel	-	Yiddish
Xanthippi	-	Greek
Manuela	mah-noo-E-lah (German), mah-NWE-lah (Italian)	Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, German, Italian
Nola	['nəulə]