1. : to drown unless one swims
if he fall in, good night, or sink or swim — Shakespeare
2. : to fail or perish unless one exerts oneself
sending him out on his own to sink or swim
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sink or swim phrase
to be left on your own to succeed or fail, without any help
It’s sink or swim in this business.
Thesaurus: to do something without helpsynonym
Main entry: sink
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fail or succeed entirely by one's own efforts
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sink or swim
◇ A situation in which you either sink or swim is one in which you must succeed by your own efforts or fail completely.
They left me to sink or swim on my own.
In this job, it's sink or swim.
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Main Entry: ↑sink
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Main Entry: ↑swim
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ˌsink or ˈswim idiom
to be in a situation where you will either succeed by your own efforts or fail completely
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The new students were just left to sink or swim.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.