knock the socks off

Idioms  

1. Also knock someone's socks off.

2. Overwhelm, bedazzle, or amaze someone, as in The young pianist knocked the socks off of the judges , or That display will knock their socks off . [ Slang ; mid-1800s]

3. Also, knock the spots off . Surpass or outdo completely, defeat. For example, These large chains have been knocking the socks off the small independent grocers , or Our team knocked the spots off them . The spots most likely allude to target practice with playing cards where the object is to shoot through all the pips, spots, or marks indicating the suit or numerical value of a playing card, but one authority holds that they were used in a horse-breeding context and meant “to be in the vanguard.” [Mid-1800s]

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Example Sentences

A small team of astronomers and science outreach experts selected the images to show off the capability of the new telescope and to knock the socks off the public.

From New York Times • Jul. 11, 2022

Do you need a Christmas appetizer that’s going to knock the socks off of family and friends?

From Fox News • Dec. 20, 2021

I make a graham cracker crust that will knock the socks off any child, no matter how big of a smarty pants they are.

From Washington Post • Mar. 19, 2021

Oh, and if you ever feel compelled to knock the socks off an advice columnist, I’m very keen on the Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough County, New Zealand.

From Slate • Mar. 6, 2012

So I went down in the Third ward and got an Irish boy by the name of Duffy, who can knock the socks off of any boy in the ward.

From Peck's Bad Boy and His Pa 1883 by Smith, Gean