kick in the teeth

plural kicks in the teeth

1. idiomaticA humiliating insult or instance of bad treatment, especially when one is expecting friendship or in need of support; a sudden and unexpected setback; a strong rebuff.

   This kick in the teeth, brutal under any circumstances, is more so, given Matoussem Ramoud's gentle, trusting nature and his infatuation with America.

   1996, Evelyn Shakir, “Arab-American Literature”, in Alpana Sharma Knippling, editor, New Immigrant Literatures in the United States: A Sourcebook to Our Multicultural Literary Heritage, page 13

   2 more examples

   King had remarked after the bill failed that a lot of people had lost faith in America; Roy Wilkins had said, “This defeat was a kick in the teeth to the civil rights effort.”

   1998, Annetta Louise Gomez-Jefferson, In Darkness with God: The Life of Joseph Gomez, a Bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, page 331

   She had found her niche by being truant from school, giving people a bad time, and basically giving her parents' strict moral values a good, strong kick in the teeth.

   2006, Kevin Leman, Sex Begins in the Kitchen: Creating Intimacy to Make Your Marriage Sizzle, page 119

   Synonyms: slap in the face