go at it
verbUS /ˌɡoʊ ˈæt ɪt/
Etymology From go + at it or go at + it.
1
As go at + it; spoken emphasis typically on 'go'.
- I can't figure out this problem. I've been going at it [going at the problem] for hours now.
› As go + at it; spoken emphasis typically on 'at'.
2
Informal To engage in some activity, especially vigorously or enthusiastically.
- We were all going at it like crazy, trying to get the job finished before the deadline.
3
Slang To fight or argue.
- Joe accidentally spilled his drink on Eric, Eric got up and insulted his mother, and before you know it, they were going at it.
- I sought Jem and found him in his room, on the bed deep in thought. “Have they been at it?” I asked. “Sort of. She won’t let him alone about Tom Robinson. She almost said Atticus was disgracin‘ the family. Scout… I’m scared.”1960 July 11, Harper Lee, chapter 15, in To Kill a Mockingbird, Philadelphia, Pa.; New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC:
4
Euphemistic, Slang To have sex.
- I walked into my dorm room and caught my roommate and his girlfriend going at it.