body blow
Boxing. a blow driven to the opponent's body between the breastbone and the navel.
any action that causes severe damage, losses, etc.: Our business received a body blow in the recession.
Origin of body blow
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for body blow
Also called: body punch boxing a blow to the body of an opponent
a severe disappointment or setback: unavailability of funds was a body blow to the project
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with body blow
An action that causes severe damage, as in This last recession dealt a body blow to our whole industry. This term comes from boxing, where since the 18th century it has been used to refer to a punch that is landing between the opponent's chest and navel. [c. 1900]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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