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• hit below the belt
  hit below the belt

  To say something that is often too personal, usually irrelevant, and always unfair: “To remind reformed alcoholics of their drinking problem is to hit below the belt.” The expression comes from boxing, in which it is illegal to hit an opponent below the belt.
• below the belt, hit
  below the belt, hit

  Not behave according to the rules or decency, unfairly, as in Bringing up my mother's faults—that's really hitting below the belt. The term comes from boxing, where according to the Marquis of Queensberry Rules (1865) a fighter may punch his opponent only in the upper body or head. For a synonym, see low blow; also see under one's belt.

hit below the belt

Cultural  

1. To say something that is often too personal, usually irrelevant, and always unfair: “To remind reformed alcoholics of their drinking problem is to hit below the belt.” The expression comes from boxing, in which it is illegal to hit an opponent below the belt.

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below the belt, hit Idioms  

1. Not behave according to the rules or decency, unfairly, as in Bringing up my mother's faults—that's really hitting below the belt. The term comes from boxing, where according to the Marquis of Queensberry Rules (1865) a fighter may punch his opponent only in the upper body or head. For a synonym, see low blow; also see under one's belt.

2. see below the belt.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hit below the belt

But he also was denigrated as a gut fighter who hit below the belt.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 13, 2021

Athletics: C Chris Hermann left with a groin contusion after getting hit below the belt by a bounced pitch.

From Washington Times ● Aug. 25, 2019

On only his second day of training camp, Lock, who reportedly was in a contract stalemate earlier this week, got verbally hit below the belt Friday by the old-school coach of the Broncos.

From Reuters ● Jul. 19, 2019

Propeller, the all-male British theater troupe that routinely turns Shakespeare into a donnybrook, has never hesitated to hit below the belt.

From New York Times ● Mar. 18, 2011

In thus usurping the prerogative of their victims, they ignore the rules of the ring, and hit below the belt.

From The Golden Age by Kenneth Grahame