smack dab

Or smack-dab

[smak-dab]

adverb

Informal.

1. directly; squarely.

   smack dab in the middle.

Word History and Origins

Origin of smack dab¹

First recorded in 1890–95; smack ² ( def. ) (in the sense “directly, straight”) + dab ¹ ( def. ) (in the sense “a quick, light blow,” used adverbially)

Example Sentences

How a squirrel ended up smack dab in the middle of the dance floor was unknown.

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Because I was born in 1977, thus placing me in high school smack dab in the center of the “killers are sexy” Renaissance of the early ’90s, I’m hardwired to find this all extremely attractive.

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What sane person on Earth would confidently conclude in early 2007, smack dab in the midst of the mother of all teaser rate scams, that the subprime fallout will not result in contagion?

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“We don’t want to live in fear, so we make ourselves useful working for organizations that move the scale away from fear and put us smack dab in the middle of love.”

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Films like “All of Us Strangers,” “Happiest Season” and “Of an Age” have attempted to depict the stomach-twisting anxiety of being queer and finding yourself smack dab in the place you tried so hard to get out of, and to varying success.

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