cheap shot
Americannoun
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a covert, unsportsmanlike, and illegal act of deliberate roughness, especially in football, often calculated to injure an opponent.
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any mean or unsportsmanlike remark or action, especially one directed at a defenseless or vulnerable person.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Indeed, one might ask whether everyone who is presuming that Smith did not follow department procedure is taking their own cheap shot.
From Slate ● Oct. 7, 2024
“I took a cheap shot at the beginning of the Notre Dame game,” Henderson said.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 28, 2023
With that star power comes an easy cheap shot: Why should anybody care about a bunch of privileged elites whining about a dream job?
From New York Times ● Jul. 16, 2023
It was a cheap shot consistent with the verbal sucker punches Brooks had earlier hurled in James’ direction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2023
“Natalie doesn’t like it either. She doesn’t like it one bit,” I say, although I know this is a cheap shot.
From "Al Capone Does My Shirts" by Gennifer Choldenko
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
