E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Fling.
I must have a fling at … Throw a stone at something. To attack with words, especially sarcastically. To make a haphazard venture. Allusion is to hurling stones from slings.
1
To have his fling. To live on the loose for a time. To fling about his time and money like “ducks and drakes.”
2
“If he is young, he desires to have … his ‘fling’ before he is compelled to settle down”—Nineteenth Century (February, 1892, p. 208).
