in one foul swoop
English
Etymology
Mondegreen variant of in one fell swoop, where "fell" (of a strong and cruel nature; eager and unsparing; grim; fierce; ruthless; savage) is misheard as "foul" (disgusting) or "fowl" (a bird).
Prepositional phrase
- (idiomatic, proscribed) (Achieved or completed) with a single action; in a single stroke.
- 1915 November 18, The Labor Call, page 10:
- The acquiescence of the party as the result of hasty and immature deliberation, is indicative of a supreme contempt of comrades, and vitiates in one foul swoop the conditions that regulate the movement.
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