one fell swoop
English
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one fell swoop
Where it comes from
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.
noun
- One stroke; one action or event that achieves or accomplishes many results. Changing the oil lubricates the engine and removes debris in one fell swoop.
Translations
Every language
noun one stroke; one action or event with many results
| Español | de repente |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 一撃 ichigeki, 一挙 ikkyo, 一気 ikki |
| Português | de uma só vez, de uma só tacada |
| Français | d'un seul coup, d’un coup d’un seul |
| Deutsch | in einem Rutsch, mit einem Schlag |
| Italiano | in un colpo solo |
| Română | dintr-o lovitură |
| Русский | одни́м ма́хом odním máxom |
| עברית | אִבְחַת חֶרֶב ivẖát ẖérev |
Talk about this word "one fell swoop." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/one%20fell%20swoop. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. one fell swoop. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/one%20fell%20swoop "one fell swoop." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/one%20fell%20swoop.Cite this
@misc{one_fell_swoop_2026,
title = {one fell swoop},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/one%20fell%20swoop},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
