knock for a loop

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knock for a loop (third-person singular simple present knocks for a loop, present participle knocking for a loop, simple past and past participle knocked for a loop)

1. (transitive, idiomatic) To astonish; to stagger or overwhelm; to confuse or disorient.

   Synonyms: throw for a loop, throw off

   • 1932, Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, published 1965, page 7:

     [Denham answered] "Gas bombs, Old Man! My own prescription. […] Gas bombs powerful enough to knock a row of elephants for a loop."

   • 1967 November 17, “Wall Street: Big Casino”, in Time‎, retrieved 2 August 2014:

     [A] triple threat to the U.S. economy […] has knocked stock prices for a loop.

   • 1990, John Updike, Rabbit at Rest‎, →ISBN, page 394:

     Poor Janice, she'll be knocked for a loop. She'll feel she's let her father down.

   • 2008 September 7, Anita Gates, “Stage: Dinner and a Show, in One Spot, at One Price”, in The New York Times‎, retrieved 2 August 2014:

     Karyn McNay as Ulla, the sexy Swedish actress/receptionist/cleaning woman, knocks the audience for a loop too.