gut punch

plural gut punches

1. literallyA hard hit to the stomach.
2. figurativelyA sudden, profound, emotional shock or disappointment that evokes visceral distress.

   The president’s visit to Ukraine was a gut punch to the Russian leader.

   2023 February 20, Eliot A. Cohen, “Biden Just Destroyed Putin’s Last Hope”, in The Atlantic

   3 more examples

   Now their powder would be cannon powder and gun powder, would be made into canister shot, and would propel balls into flesh, and would blow living men to shreds. The whole idea was a gut punch.

   1991, D. L. Carey, Distant Drums - Volume 1, page 523

   Mizuho denied it, but the report was a gut punch for the stock market, where the Nikkei average sank 189 points or 1.5% Wednesday, and retreated another 22 points today to close at 12,607.

   2001, The Weekly Japan Digest, Volume 12, Issues 16-28, p. 7

   So when he died—on June 19, 1986, from a cocaine overdose, two days after being selected No. 2 overall in the NBA Draft—it was a gut punch for the whole region.

   2019, Marcus Thompson, KD: Kevin Durant's Relentless Pursuit to Be the Greatest, page 2