defense

Related to defense: Department of Defense, Defense mechanisms

attack is the best form of defense

Launching an offensive is the best way to protect oneself. I need to start some rumors about Dean, before he comes after me. I know it sounds harsh, but attack is the best form of defense!
See also: attack, defense, form, of

leap to (one's) defense

To begin defending one very quickly or abruptly. I appreciate the thought, but I don't need you leaping to my defense every time someone starts arguing with me. Thankfully, a group of people in the bar leaped to her defense when the man started assaulting her. The boss singled out Jonathan when he started criticizing the progress of the project, so I leaped to his defense.
See also: defense, leap

Nuremberg defense

A plea or legal defense strategy in which the defendant claims that their actions were solely the result of carrying out the orders of superiors and that, as such, they should not be found guilty of such actions. Refers to the use of such a defense by political and military leaders of defeated Nazi Germany in the Nuremberg Trials of 1945–46. Against the charge of unlawful murder during wartime, the staff sergeant's defense attorney put forward a Nuremberg defense, claiming that the killings were carried out under direct orders by superior officers.
See also: defense

spring to (one's) defense

To begin defending one very quickly or abruptly. I appreciate the thought, but I don't need you springing to my defense every time someone starts arguing with me. Thankfully, a group of people in the bar sprang to her defense when the man started assaulting her. The boss singled out Jonathan when he started criticizing the progress of the project, so I sprang to his defense.
See also: defense, spring

the best defense is a good offense

proverb Proactively attacking one's opponents or enemies is the best way to protect oneself, since they will be occupied with defending themselves, rather than attacking. They have a lot of scoring power, so we need to attack the goal early and wear them out. The best defense is a good offense, girls.
See also: defense, good, offense

the noble art (of self-defense)

The sport of boxing. Any two yahoos can get into a fistfight, but it takes real skill, dedication, and training to learn the noble art of self-defense. He spent most of his career training in the noble art before joining the world of mixed martial arts last year.
See also: art, noble
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

best defense is a good offense

Prov. If you attack your opponents, they will be so busy fighting off your attack that they will not be able to attack you. (Often associated with sports. Often pronounced with the accent on the first syllable, similar to offense.) The team mostly practiced offensive moves because the coach believed that the best defense is a good offense. Jim thought that the best defense is a good offense, so he always tried to pass other drivers before they could pass him.
See also: defense, good, offense

spring to someone's defense

Fig. to go quickly to defend someone. (Can be against physical or verbal attack.) Fred was attacked and Ralph sprang to his defense. We sprang to Mary's defense when she was accused of doing wrong.
See also: defense, spring
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

last-ditch defense/effort

A desperate final measure. In military terminology of the seventeenth century the “last ditch” was the ultimate line of defense. By the eighteenth century the term was being used figuratively, as in Thomas Jefferson’s description, “A government driven to the last ditch by the universal call for liberty.”
See also: defense, effort
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • wash (one's) hands of (someone or something)
  • wash hands of
  • wash one's hands of
  • wash your hands of
  • wash your hands of somebody/something
  • wash your hands of something/someone
  • for (one's) (own) sake
  • for sake
  • keep in sight
  • keep sight of (someone or something)
References in periodicals archive
* Defense Technology Search (DTS), which enables a single search request to retrieve information from the Portal contents as well as DTIC's vast collection of scientific and technical information.
DoD's information gateway: the research and engineering portal
Since most teams are right-handed, the opposition's right side (and also the defense's left side), is defined as the "tight side" of the court.
The full court zone press and its multiple stunts: part III, the 2-1-2 press
That being said, a better understanding of the common interest doctrine will inevitably serve to facilitate the flow of communication among policyholders, assigned defense counsel and insurers and lead to better outcomes for all concerned.
Sharing secrets: the 'common interest' doctrine is the key to whether an insurer is entitled to receive privileged communications between a policyholder and defense counsel
The SAM-IT course was conducted across the city in the Human Resources Management Directorate (HRMD) at the Romanian Ministry of National Defense.
The defense institute of security assistance management returns to Romania after nine years!
Tom Charron, president of the National District Attorneys Association and one of the participants in the Atlanta symposium, says the gay panic defense should not be allowed: "In our system of justice the defense has the right to put almost whatever they want in front of the jury.
"They asked for it": murderers of gay and transgender people across the country are still blaming the victims, claiming sexual advances can cause homicidal rage. Now prosecutors are joining together to get rid of the "gay panic" defense once and for all
The Justice Department's ambitions can be seen in several prosecutions during the 1990s in which criminal charges were brought against defense lawyers in an apparent attempt to muzzle the government's most formidable adversaries.
Criminal representation: did Congress quietly make it a crime for lawyers to defend terror suspects?
The defense budget is the best-fed kid in a hungry house hold.
There's no defense for this budget: America's empire has been detailed for years in annual military spending requests. (margin notes)
The Defense Message System (DMS) is the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence's (ASD C3I) designated messaging system for the Department of Defense and supporting agencies.
PAR Technology subsidiary announces $6.1 mil Navy I/T support contract
The AWACS system is now an integrated, indispensable element of Japan's own defense, and it complements the three US Air Force AWACS aircraft stationed at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa.
In defense of the realm
Suddenly national defense is a pressing urgency, and momentum is growing to scrap the ABM Treaty and other treasonous agreements with the former Soviet Union.
The Case for Missile Defense: The fact that America faces novel terrorist threats such as hijacked planes and anthrax spores does not negate the need for an effective, comprehensive missile defense. (Defense)
The White House is touting September 11 as proof of America's vulnerability to foreign attack and, by extention, need for a missile defense system (even though the attacks showed that our greatest vulnerability isn't from missiles).
Hit To Kill: The New Battle Over Shielding America from Missile Attack. (Political Booknotes: rouge notion)
1, the station's work has been shifted to Defense Distribution Center Yokosuka-Japan.
MTMC shifts Yokohama container freight station work
Thales is now the world's third-largest defense contractor, larger, in fact, than companies such as Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems, which are able to boast of instant name recognition.
Viva La Defense!
AMERICA'S SPACE-AGE MISSILE DEFENSE SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF STAR WARS, WILL IT MAKE THE WORLD SAFER--OR WILL IT SET OFF A NEW ARMS RACE?
The New Nuclear Threat
The Clinton Administration's efforts to go forward with missile defense are deeply destabilizing.
The Folly of Missile Defense