swoop

at one fell swoop

All at once, with a single decisive or powerful action. When the economy crashed, thousands lost their jobs, their homes, and their pensions at one fell swoop. At one fell swoop, the military junta arrested the prime minister, executed its enemies in parliament, and assumed total control of the country. The new law reduced crime, poverty, and famine at one fell swoop.

See also: fell, one, swoop

in one fell swoop

All at once, with a single decisive or powerful action. When the economy crashed, thousands lost their jobs, their homes, and their pensions in one fell swoop. As the two leaders ratified the treaty, 10 years of civil war ended in one fell swoop. In her explosive new novel, the acclaimed author seeks to tackle issues of race, gender, and religion in one fell swoop.

See also: fell, one, swoop

one fell swoop

A single decisive or powerful action. When the economy crashed, thousands lost their jobs, their homes, and their pensions in one fell swoop. With one fell swoop, the military junta arrested the prime minister, executed its enemies in parliament, and assumed total control of the country.

See also: fell, one, swoop

swoop down

To rush quickly downward in an abrupt sweeping motion. He swooped down and picked up the toddler before she got too close to the steps. I love sitting on the pier, watching the birds swoop down to catch fish.

See also: down, swoop

swoop down on (someone or something)

1. To move down in a sudden plunging sweep to seize or land on someone or something. The falcon swooped down on its trainer's arm. The pelicans hover over the bay, swooping down on fish that venture too close to the surface of the water.

2. To descend on someone or something very quickly and suddenly, as to attack or grasp them or it. The children all swooped down on the pile of candy that fell from the broken piñata. Several police officers swooped down on the suspect.

See also: down, on, swoop

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

at one fell swoop

 and in one fell swoop

Fig. in a single incident; as a single event. (This phrase preserves the old word fell, meaning "terrible" or "deadly.") The party guests ate up all the snacks at one fell swoop. When the stock market crashed, many large fortunes were wiped out in one fell swoop.

See also: fell, one, swoop

swoop down (up)on someone or something

 

1. Lit. to dive or plunge downward on someone or something. The eagle swooped down upon the lamb.

2. Fig. [for someone] to pounce on and consume something. The children swooped down on the ice cream and cake.

See also: down, on, swoop

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

one fell swoop, in

Also at one fell swoop. All at once, in a single action, as in This law has lifted all the controls on cable TV in one fell swoop. This term was used and probably invented by Shakespeare in Macbeth (4:3), where the playwright likens the murder of Macduff's wife and children to a hawk swooping down on defenseless prey. Although fell here means "cruel" or "ruthless," this meaning has been lost in the current idiom, where it now signifies "sudden."

See also: fell, one

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

in (or at) one fell swoop

all in one go.

This expression comes from Macduff's appalled reaction to the murder of his wife and children in Shakespeare's Macbeth: ‘Oh hell-kite!…All my pretty chickens, and their dam At one fell swoop?’

See also: fell, one, swoop

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

at/in one fell ˈswoop

with a single action or movement; all at the same time: Only a foolish politician would promise to lower the rate of inflation and reduce unemployment at one fell swoop.

See also: fell, one, swoop

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

swoop down

v.

To make a rush or an attack with or as if with a sudden sweeping movement: An owl swooped down on the rabbit.

See also: down, swoop

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

at one fell swoop

A single operation, often a violent one. This term was coined by Shakespeare, who used the metaphor of a hell-kite (probably a vulture) killing chickens for the murder of Macduff’s wife and children: “Oh, Hell-Kite! All? What, all my pretty chickens and their dam at one fell swoop?” (Macbeth, 4.3). The adjective fell was Old English for “fierce” or “savage.”

See also: fell, one, swoop

The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer

one fell swoop

A single and rapid act. “Fell” comes from an Old English word for frightful and “swoop” describes the way hawks and other birds of prey drop out of the sky to capture their victims. Accordingly, something that is done “in one fell swoop,” whether or not it is awful, happens with no hesitation. Shakespeare coined the phrase in Macbeth, where the character Macduff laments the murders of his wife and children with “What, all my pretty chick- ens and their dam / At one fell swoop?”

See also: fell, one, swoop

Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price Copyright © 2011 by Steven D. Price