take up arms

Idioms and Phrases

Also, take up the cudgels . Become involved in a conflict, either physical or verbal, as in The Kurds took up arms against the Iranians at least two centuries ago , or Some believe it's the vice-president's job to take up the cudgels for the president . The first term originated in the 1400s in the sense of going to war. The variant, alluding to cudgels as weapons, has been used figuratively since the mid-1600s and is probably obsolescent.

Example Sentences

But that doesn't mean we should take up arms against them.

From Salon

Many locals have voluntarily taken up arms - some stolen from armed forces, some country-made - to protect their villages from intruders.

From BBC

Twenty years ago, in this same part of the Philippines, communist insurgents took up arms against an earlier generation of power plants that had displaced them.

From Seattle Times

But, three years after the agreement was signed, he appeared in a video with other former Farc leaders calling on his followers to take up arms again.

From BBC

Newton and Seale based their politics on teachings from Malcolm X, socialist and communist ideology and championed the self-determination and defense of Black people by taking up arms.

From Salon

Related Words

• defy
• overthrow
• renounce
• resist
• revolt
• secede