Knock down with a feather in a sentence

knock (someone) down with a feather

To shock, confuse, or astonish someone to a point of complete bewilderment; to throw someone for a loop. More often phrased as "you could have knocked me down with a feather," expressing great bewilderment or surprise. It really knocked me down with a feather to hear that my ex-wife had already remarried. I was so taken aback when I found out I'd won the lottery that you could have knocked me down with a feather!

See also: down, feather, knock

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

knock down with a feather

see under knock for a loop.

See also: down, feather, knock

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.

knock (someone) down with a feather, to

To overcome with surprise. This hyperbole dates from the early nineteenth century. An early appearance in print is in William Cobbett’s Rural Rides (1821): “You might have knocked me down with a feather.” Today it is more often used with the conditional could (instead of might).

See also: down, knock, to

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

See also:
  • a stranger to (someone or something)
  • be out of (one's) league
  • be out of somebody's league
  • be left in charge (of someone or something)
  • accompany (one) on a/(one's) journey
  • accompany on a journey
  • be put in charge (of someone or something)
  • be in bad with (someone)
  • be ships that pass in the night
  • be like ships that pass in the night

knock (someone) down with a feather

To shock, confuse, or astonish someone to a point of complete bewilderment; to throw someone for a loop. More often phrased as "you could have knocked me down with a feather," expressing great bewilderment or surprise. It really knocked me down with a feather to hear that my ex-wife had already remarried. I was so taken aback when I found out I'd won the lottery that you could have knocked me down with a feather!

See also: down, feather, knock

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

knock down with a feather

see under knock for a loop.

See also: down, feather, knock

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.

knock (someone) down with a feather, to

To overcome with surprise. This hyperbole dates from the early nineteenth century. An early appearance in print is in William Cobbett’s Rural Rides (1821): “You might have knocked me down with a feather.” Today it is more often used with the conditional could (instead of might).

See also: down, knock, to

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

See also:
  • a stranger to (someone or something)
  • be out of (one's) league
  • be out of somebody's league
  • be left in charge (of someone or something)
  • accompany (one) on a/(one's) journey
  • accompany on a journey
  • be put in charge (of someone or something)
  • be in bad with (someone)
  • be ships that pass in the night
  • be like ships that pass in the night

Knock one over with a feather and knock one down with a feather are two versions of an idiom. We will examine the meaning of the common idiom knock one over with a feather and knock one down with a feather, where it came from, and some examples of its idiomatic usage in sentences.

Knock one over with a feather and knock one down with a feather denote surprise, shock, or astonishment. The expressions knock one over with a feather and knock one down with a feather describe the fact that one is so overcome, even the small amount of pressure expended by the weight of a feather could cause that person to collapse. The phrases knock one over with a feather and knock one down with a feather came into use in the latter-1700s in the United States. According to Google Ngram, the knock one down with a feather version is slightly more popular than the knock one over with a feather version, though they are fairly evenly matched.

Examples

Knock me down with a feather – I did not see that one coming. (Southern Star)

As for those lockdown-lifting measures from Boris that pious Sturgeon used for maximum media impact, including a farcical suggestion from her party to introduce a police border between Scotland and England — knock me down with a feather! — she’s only gone and followed suit a week later. (The Sun)

“You could knock me over with a feather,” Pulis has since said about his former player’s transformation. (Forbes)

“Well color me surprised and knock me over with a feather.” (Vanity Fair)

What figure of speech is knocked me over with a feather?

Hyperbole: The Best Thing Ever You can find hyperbole in plenty of English idioms: She's asked a million questions. You could have knocked me over with a feather. He's as quiet as a mouse.

What is the meaning of the hyperbole you could have knocked me over with a feather?

You can say "you could have knocked me over with a feather" to show how surprised you were when something happened, or when you heard about something.

What is the meaning of idiom knock down?

slang To decrease something. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "knock" and "down." I would knock down the oven temperature a little bit.

What is the synonym of knock down?

Explore 'knock down' in the dictionary. (verb) in the sense of demolish. Synonyms. demolish. destroy.