knock for a loop

English

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

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Verb

knock for a loop (third-person singular simple present knocks for a loop, present participle knocking for a loop, simple past and past participle knocked for a loop)

1. (transitive, idiomatic) To astonish; to stagger or overwhelm; to confuse or disorient.

   Synonyms: throw for a loop, throw off

   • 1932, Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, published 1965, page 7:

     [Denham answered] "Gas bombs, Old Man! My own prescription. […] Gas bombs powerful enough to knock a row of elephants for a loop."

   • 1967 November 17, “Wall Street: Big Casino”, in Time‎^[1], retrieved 2 August 2014:

     [A] triple threat to the U.S. economy […] has knocked stock prices for a loop.

   • 1990, John Updike, Rabbit at Rest‎^[2], →ISBN, page 394:

     Poor Janice, she'll be knocked for a loop. She'll feel she's let her father down.

   • 2008 September 7, Anita Gates, “Stage: Dinner and a Show, in One Spot, at One Price”, in The New York Times‎^[3], retrieved 2 August 2014:

     Karyn McNay as Ulla, the sexy Swedish actress/receptionist/cleaning woman, knocks the audience for a loop too.

Translations

to astonish, overwhelm, confuse

• French: en boucher un coin (fr)
• German: aus der Bahn werfen
• Polish: zbijać z pantałyku impf, zbić z pantałyku (pl) pf, zbijać z tropu impf, zbić z tropu pf, zwalać z nóg impf, zwalić z nóg (pl) pf
• Russian: ошара́шить (ru) n (ošarášitʹ), обескура́жить (ru) n (obeskurážitʹ)