sink or swim

English

Etymology

Possibly from the practice of throwing a suspected witch into water.

Verb

sink or swim

1. (idiomatic) To fail or succeed, no matter what.

Usage notes

• Used to indicate that, although a project will either fail or succeed, it will still be attempted.

Translations

to fail or succeed, on a project attempted

• French: marche ou crève (fr) (move/walk or expire)