knock the socks off

knock the socks off (someone or something)

1. To thoroughly impress, overwhelm, or excite someone. The show of support from everyone just knocked the socks off me. Apparently that movie really knocked the socks off Tim—he's been raving about it since he came home.

2. To completely outclass, outdo, or outperform someone or something; to soundly defeat or best someone or something. Wow, this coffee knocks the socks off the stuff we get back home. Catherine knocked the socks off the other kids in the spelling bee.

See also: knock, off, sock

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

knock the socks off

Also knock someone's socks off.

1. 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]

2. 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]

See also: knock, off, sock

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.