smack dab

[ smak-dab ]

adverbInformal.

Origin of smack dab

First recorded in 1890–95; smack² (in the sense “directly, straight”) + dab¹ (in the sense “a quick, light blow,” used adverbially)

On the first day of shooting, Kallai and his film crew found themselves smack-dab in the middle of a war zone.
Trans in the Holy Land: ‘Marzipan Flowers,’ Tal Kallai, and the Shattering of Israel’s LGBT Taboos | Itay Hod | November 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Now, they are smack dab in the middle of a GOP primary in Mississippi.
Mississippi GOP Plays Games With Black Votes | Ben Jacobs | June 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The first U.S. case of MERS landed in Indiana—smack-dab in the heartland.
Is Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) the Next SARS? | Dr. Anand Veeravagu, MD, Tej Azad | May 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Or take the settlement of Ariel, located smack-dab in the middle of the northern West Bank.
Two Blockbuster New Reports on Settlements | Lara Friedman | October 21, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
As we wuz startin' home some monstrous thing riz up right smack dab in front ov us, not more'n 100 feet away.
Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves, Arkansas Narratives, Part 4 | Work Projects Administration

Wouldnt do to go tearing off this pier, and run smack-dab into a trap.
The Radio Boys on Secret Service Duty | Gerald Breckenridge
And one froze in its landing glide and flew smack-dab into its landing field.
Space Platform | Murray Leinster

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