blood-and-guts

[ bluhd-n-guhts ]

adjective

1. dealing with or depicting war or violence, especially in a lurid manner:

   a blood-and-guts movie.

2. concerned with fundamental needs, problems, values, etc.:

   The blood-and-guts issues will determine the election.

Example Sentences

It communicates on an instinctive, blood-and-guts level, not through “West Wing”-like dialogues on policy.

From New York Times

“I think this will be a pretty feisty, blood-and-guts race,” he said.

From Seattle Times

Three recent murders — a shooting, a stabbing and what appears to be a death caused by claws — resemble those from the “twisty, blood-and-guts, psycho-thriller revenge tales” that Holly wrote under the pen name Horace Bellow.

From Seattle Times

Armiliato’s conducting was notable for bringing out the score’s dynamic range; much of this orchestral performance was subtle and delicate, rather than the blaring blood-and-guts that is still the verismo stereotype.

From New York Times

Quibi’s blood-and-guts series “50 States of Fright” recently released several new episodes, each set in a different state.

From New York Times

Related Words

• bloodshed
• butchery
• crime
• havoc
• killing
• mass murder
• slaughter
• slaying
• warfare