Word.ws English Dictionary

in one foul swoop

in one foul swoop prepositional phrase: (Achieved or completed) with a single action; in a single stroke.

Prepositional phrase

  1. (idiomatic, proscribed) (Achieved or completed) with a single action; in a single stroke.
    • 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 of in one foul swoop

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).

Questions about in one foul swoop

What does in one foul swoop mean?
In one foul swoop means (Achieved or completed) with a single action; in a single stroke.
What part of speech is in one foul swoop?
In one foul swoop is a prepositional phrase.

Words near in one foul swoop in the dictionary

  1. in of itself
  2. in office
  3. in on
  4. in one
  5. in one bite
  6. in one foul swoop
  7. in one go
  8. in one piece
  9. in one sitting
  10. in one stroke
  11. in one voice

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: in one foul swoop (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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