empty the clip

empty the clip (third-person singular simple present empties the clip, present participle emptying the clip, simple past and past participle emptied the clip)

1. (chiefly US, literally) To fire all of the cartridges in the magazine of an automatic or semi-automatic firearm.
   • 2015, November 10, Zachary Fagenson, "Florida 'Facebook Killer' goes on trial for wife's murder," Reuters (retrieved 20 April 2021):

     Prosecutors say Medina fired eight shots, emptying the clip on his weapon.

2. (chiefly US, idiomatic, sports, by extension) To compete with great vigor, especially by making numerous scoring attempts.
   • 2016, May 2, Blake Murphy, "They did it," Raptors Republic (retrieved 20 April 2021):

     DeRozan emptied the clip. The fans at the ACC emptied theirs, too. Every person in that arena […] was ready to leave it all on the floor.

   • 2017,August 23, Arden Zwelling, "Stroman battles feel for pitches in Blue Jays-Rays slugfest," Sportsnet (retrieved 20 April 2021):

     That completed an unraveling of an early Blue Jays lead that stood at five runs after the second inning as Toronto emptied the clip on Tampa Bay starter Austin Pruitt.

   • 2021, March 29, Ben Davila, "Dallas Stars: Are we kidding ourselves about their chances?," Fansided (retrieved 20 April 2021):

     The Stars emptied the clip and were the better team in last two periods.

3. (chiefly US, idiomatic, by extension) To speak vehemently, especially in an outraged, insulting, or threatening manner.
   • 2017, April 17, Dane Mizutani, "Bruce Boudreau explodes, proves goalie Jake Allen has gotten to Wild ," Twin Cities Pioneer Press (retrieved 20 April 2021):

     When prodded about his team's struggles […] Boudreau completely emptied the clip before storming out of his postgame press conference.