What is a swell swoop?

To do something in one fell swoop is to do it suddenly or in a single, swift action. Fell here is an adjective meaning fierce, savage, cruel, or ruthless. 1 This sense of fell is otherwise archaic, preserved mainly in this idiom.

What’s the origin of the phrase one fell swoop?

This term was used and probably invented by Shakespeare in Macbeth (4:3), where the playwright likens the murder of Macduff’s wife and children to a hawk swooping down on defenseless prey. Although fell here means “cruel” or “ruthless,” this meaning has been lost in the current idiom, where it now signifies “sudden.”

Is one fell swoop a cliche?

Some critics consider at one fell swoop a cliché. Like any set expression, though, it can be deployed to good effect when its particular sound and style suit your needs.

Does something all in one fell swoop?

To do something in one fell swoop means to do something quickly and all at once.

Who says what all my pretty chickens and their dam at one fell swoop?

What, all my pretty chickens, and their dam, At one fell swoop? “. MacDuff uses ‘fell’ in a sense that is now rare – as an adjective meaning ‘fierce, deadly. ‘ King Macbeth, who knows that Macduff is conspiring to overthrow him, had ordered the murder of Macduff’s wife, children, and servants.

What does be all and end all mean?

The be all end all is defined as something or someone who is considered to be a perfect specimen or the best and most desired. An example of be-all-end-all is winning an Academy Award for a celebrity.

Does fell mean evil?

adjective. Of terrible evil or ferocity; deadly. ‘Sometimes, the wind also brought unnervingly fell sounds with it, as if a chorus of unholy demons was singing in the distance.

Is it foul swoop or fell swoop?

In fact the phrase does have some connection to birds – but both “one fowl swoop” and “one foul swoop” are incorrect. The original phrase is actually “one fell swoop”. The phrase is an old one. It may have been coined by Shakespeare in 1605, or he may merely have popularised it.

What does back of beyond mean?

informal. : a place that is very far from other places and people : a remote place He lives by himself in a cabin out in the back of beyond.

What is a fell deed?

Evil, cruel, wicked, deadly, fierce. E.g. “a fell deed”. Usually found nowadays in the expression “in/at one fell swoop” (originally from Shakespeare’s Macbeth).

What does all my pretty chickens and their dam at one fell swoop mean?

What’s done Cannot be undone?

Lady Macbeth says “What’s done/ cannot be undone” in Act Five scene one, but her guilt continues to torment her. While Macbeth’s guilt causes him to commit further murders in an attempt to cover up his initial crimes, Lady Macbeth’s guilt drives her to insanity, and, finally, suicide.

What is the origin of “one fell swoop”?

The original phrase is actually “one fell swoop”. The phrase is an old one. It may have been coined by Shakespeare in 1605 , or he may merely have popularised it. In any case, the following lines can be found in Macbeth (Act 4, scene 3).

What is a “fail swoop”?

one fell swoop. A single and rapid act. “Fell” comes from an Old English word for frightful and “swoop” describes the way hawks and other birds of prey drop out of the sky to capture their victims. Accordingly, something that is done “in one fell swoop,” whether or not it is awful, happens with no hesitation.

What does swoop in mean in Urban Dictionary?

Swooping in Community Dictionary to place the progresses a person who’s already been rejected by their desired. That is a card in Urban Dictionary and no person understands just what this means. This is the actual definition.