in one foul swoop

prepositional phrase

(Achieved or completed) with a single action; in a single stroke.

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Meanings

prepositional phrase
  1. idiomaticproscribed(Achieved or completed) with a single action; in a single stroke.

    I need to get it all out at once, inflicting the damage in one foul swoop before facing the fallout left in my wake.

    2017, BJ Harvey, One Shot, page 59
    2 more examples

    The acquiescence of the party as the result of hasty and immature deliberation, is indicative of a supreme contempt of comrades, and vitiates in one foul swoop the conditions that regulate the movement.

    1915 November 18, The Labor Call, page 10

    All their suspicions had evaporated in one foul swoop by Neil's announcement, and was now confirmed by a document that if they signed, asked them to become trustees of Neil's charity.

    2013, Chris J. Berry, The Celestial Window, page 22

Origin

Mondegreen variant of in one fell swoop, where "fell" (of a strong and cruel nature; eager and unsparing; grim; fierce; ruthless; savage) is misheard as "foul" (disgusting) or "fowl" (a bird).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

in one foul swoop. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20one%20foul%20swoop

MLA

“in one foul swoop.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20one%20foul%20swoop. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “in one foul swoop,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20one%20foul%20swoop.

Source: in one foul swoop on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.