draw fire | Idiomator

Meaning: (literal,also figurative)In anarmedencounter, to attractgunfirefrom anadversary, whetherunintentionallyordeliberatelyfor the purpose of allowing one's allies or colleagues to gain atacticaladvantage over the adversary.1894,G. A. Henty, chapter 4, inThrough the Sikh War:"If you find only a handful of men there, drive them off; if they are in force, get near enough todraw their fireand find out their strength."1940May, “Overseas Railways: Acceleration Proceeds in U.S.A.”, inRailway Magazine, page298:But the latest Santa Fe development, while not spurring the Rock Island to any further acceleration, hasdrawn firefrom a totally unexpected quarter.2004November 29,Richard A. Oppel Jr., “Notes Spotted by Soldier Lead G.I.'s to Rebel Cache”, inNew York Times, retrieved20 February 2020:Sometimes troops go into insurgent areas for the principal purpose ofdrawing their fire—so the Americans can shoot back and capture or kill them.2011May 5, Robert Booth, Saeed Shah, Jason Burke, “Osama bin Laden death”, inGuardian, UK, retrieved20 February 2020:[T]he Navy Sealsdrew firefrom only one al-Qaida gunman and quickly killed him.; (idiomatic,by extension)To create adistractionthat allows one'sfriends,co-workers, or otherassociatesto gain an advantage over the distracted party.1909,William Dean Howells, chapter 1, inA Hazard of New Fortunes:By-the-way, you've never had much talk with Miss Woodburn, have you, March?""Not so much as with Miss Woodburn's father.""Well, he is rather apt to scoop the conversation. I mustdraw his fire, sometime, when you and Mrs. March are around, and get you a chance with Miss Woodburn."; (idiomatic,by extension)To attractcriticismor anangryreaction.1978July 12, Robert Metz, “Market Place”, inNew York Times, retrieved20 February 2020:The Compugraphics Corporation, a company that oncedrew firefor its income‐augmenting accounting practices, is making an impression in Wall Street these days with a solid record of quality earnings gains.1979April 8,Julia O'Faolain, “Certainties Of Loss”, inWashington Post, retrieved20 February 2020:An Irish writer living in Devon, Trevor is alert to the quirks of people on both sides of the Irish Sea[…]Bullies and bigots of every stripedraw his fire.2003November 17, “10 Questions for Les Moonves”, inTime, retrieved20 February 2020:CBS television President Les Moonves has been the man in the hot seat. After a conservative outcry, he abruptly canceled a mini-series about Ronald Reagan, only todraw firefrom liberals complaining that he caved in to pressure.

Examples:

EN: Now the rest of you draw fire.
ES: Ustedes atraigan el fuego.
EN: - You gonna rig a dummy to draw fire?
ES: ¿Usará un maniquí para atraer fuego?
EN: Used to draw fire away from the convoy.
ES: Sirve para apartar el fuego del convoy.
EN: And at some level we knew that. You know, go walk in the woods and draw fire.
ES: Y hasta cierto punto sabíamos que hay que ir al bosque y hacer que te disparen.
EN: General, listen, you send a gun up here and that's gonna draw fire.
ES: Un cañón provocará que nos disparen.
EN: You expect me to draw fire!
ES: Se supone que debo hacer de cebo.
EN: Sergeant, take four across-draw fire.
ES: Sargento, cuatro para atraer el fuego.
EN: But I still have to send out reconnaissance... and patrols usually draw fire.
ES: Pero debo enviar hombres a hacer un reconocimiento... y normalmente, les disparan a las patrullas.
EN: I draw fire watch.
ES: Estoy de imaginaria.
EN: - Okay. Can you draw fire safely?
ES: - ¿Puedes hacer que dispare sin riesgo?
EN: I should've known you'd draw fire comin' out of nowhere.
ES: Debí suponer que dispararían.
EN: And if you approach the Nietzschean fleet in the Maru, you're only going to draw fire.
ES: Y si te acercas a la flota Nietzscheana con la Maru, sólo atraerás fuego.
EN: They draw fire from snipers across the street.
ES: Abren fuego contra los tiradores al otro lado.
EN: I'll draw fire.
ES: Atraeré el fuego.
EN: MG42s. I'll draw fire to the right of the truck.
ES: Son MG42. Atraeré su atención a la derecha.

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