low blow
(in boxing) an illegal blow below the waist of an opponent.
an unfair or unsportsmanlike criticism or attack.
Origin of low blow
1Words Nearby low blow
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use low blow in a sentence
The real low blow is in the official communiqué in which the Swedish academicians justify their choice.
Nobel Prize Winner Modiano’s Magical Musical Prose About Paris | Pierre Assouline | October 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTViolet walks all over her two youngest daughters, but Barbara matches her, low blow for low blow.
Julia Roberts Is Back With a Vengeance in ‘August: Osage County’ | Marlow Stern | September 10, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTHe later apologized, saying it was a “low blow and I take it back.”
Twitter Explodes Over Boston Bombings, but Cooler Voices Urge Restraint | Lauren Ashburn | April 17, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd with this low blow to main rival Hillary Clinton in the final debate, it showed.
John Boehner’s Holiday Photo Snub & More Petty Political Moments | Abby Haglage | December 5, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST“Race to me is a low blow that people just use when they have nothing real to hate on,” she told the magazine.
He had no idea I wasn't interested in his other hanky-panky, but could tell I had had a low blow.
The Misplaced Battleship | Harry Harrison (AKA Henry Maxwell Dempsey)
Other Idioms and Phrases with low blow
An unscrupulous attack; an insult. For example, When my roommate moved out without a word of warning, leaving me to pay the entire rent, that was a low blow, or She wanted to win the argument, but bringing up his failed marriage was a low blow. This term alludes to the illegal practice of hitting an opponent in boxing below the belt. [c. 1950]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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