cheap shot

American  

noun

1. a covert, unsportsmanlike, and illegal act of deliberate roughness, especially in football, often calculated to injure an opponent.

2. any mean or unsportsmanlike remark or action, especially one directed at a defenseless or vulnerable person.

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cheap shot Idioms  

1. An unfair or unsporting verbal attack, as in You called him an amateur? That's really taking a cheap shot. The term originated in sports, especially American football, where it signifies deliberate roughness against an unprepared opponent. [Slang; second half of 1900s]

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Example Sentences

Also I think it was a cheap shot to talk about injuries being his fault and he should muscle up.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 27, 2026

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

“Big Red, sorry if I caught you with that cheap shot, baby,” Travis Kelce said.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 14, 2024

In response to the comments, Elin Jones, Plaid Cymru's MS for Ceredigion and the Senedd's Llywydd said it was "right" for the first minister go, calling Mr Davey's comments a "cheap shot".

From BBC • Nov. 8, 2022

“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

Related Words

• abuse
• affront
• blasphemy
• contempt
• disgrace
• disrespect
• indignity
• invective
• libel
• outrage
• put-down
• scorn
• shame
• slander
• slap
• slight
• snub
• taunt