lay about one
lay about one {v. phr.}
To hit out in all directions. — Used with a reflexive object: "her", "him", or "them".
The bandits surrounded the sheriff, but he laid about him so hard, with his gun used as a club, that they stepped back and let him escape.
Mrs. Franklin didn't kill the mouse, but she laid about her so hard with the broom that she scared it away.
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Source: A Dictionary of American Idioms
