one fell swoop
One stroke; one action or event that achieves or accomplishes many results.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“She finished all her chores in one fell swoop.”
“He deletes all his old emails in one fell swoop every Sunday morning.”
“The new manager fired the entire department in one fell swoop to cut costs.”
“The storm knocked out the power, the internet, and the phone lines in one fell swoop, leaving the entire neighborhood in total silence.”
“By signing the single comprehensive agreement, the government addressed the environmental, economic, and social concerns in one fell swoop.”
After Shakespeare, in Macbeth, act iv, scene 3, where Macduff learns his wife and entire family are murdered: : Ro. Wife, Children, Servants, all that could be found. […] : Macd. […] All my pretty ones? Did you say All? Oh Hell-Kite! All? What, All my pretty Chickens, and their Damme At one fell swoope? The imagery is of a bird of prey ("hell-kite") ransacking a whole nest at one blow, fell meaning "terrible, cruel, savage." In later uses of the expression, the force of the metaphor is reduced or lost.
- 01
as best one can
In the best possible way, given one's circumstances and abilities.
- 02
as far as one knows
To the best of one's knowledge, as far as someone knows or possible information to be gathered about the topic, subject, aspect, or situation.
- 03
back to square one
Located back at the start, as after a dead end or failure.
- 04
beat as one
To share the same feelings.
- 05
become one flesh
To join together in marriage; to develop a unifying bond as a result of marrying.
- 06
bite off more than one can chew
To try to do too much; to take on or attempt more than one is capable of doing.
- 07
bite the big one
To perform poorly; to fail.
- 08
bite the hand that feeds one
To cause harm to a benefactor (especially one that one is dependent on, thus with the idea that this behaviour is self-damaging).
Last updated August 10, 2026