like a ton of bricks

Idioms  

1. Very heavily, without subtlety. For example, If he doesn't like your work, he'll come down on you like a ton of bricks. This expression, often coupled with come down on (def. 1), replaced the earlier thousand of brick or hundred of brick. The allusion in all these is to the considerable weight of such a load. [Early 1900s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

like a ton of bricks

Earnings and revenue crushed estimates, but DoorDash’s plans to invest “several hundred million dollars” next year in technology and new initiatives fell like a ton of bricks.

From Barron's ● Nov. 14, 2025

As his final pass fell to the turf in Salt Lake City, ending USC’s spotless start in devastating fashion, the realization hit Williams like a ton of bricks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 2024

"Motherhood hit me like a ton of bricks," she says.

From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2023

“I felt so free, like a ton of bricks were lifted off my shoulders,” Lopez said of the studio apartment he has lived in for five years, paid for partly with federal funds.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 6, 2022

I was thinking about this when all of a sudden—SPLAT!!—we hit the water like a ton of bricks.

From "Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story" by Michael Collins

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