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. 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
knock down with a feather
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
- 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
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 (someone) down with a feather
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
- 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)