fell stroke

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

And then – boom! – with one fell stroke of an adapter’s arbitrariness, Mr. Kelly altered the play’s ending in a way that crudely shrinks and simplifies its intentions.

From New York Times • Aug. 2, 2010

Something worse than eating with his knife must ostracize a man, and something no greater than spitting on the sidewalk should accomplish the feat at one fell stroke.

From Etiquette by Morton, Agnes H.

By one fell stroke the might of Persia has been laid low at Salamis.

From Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern — Volume 1 by Runkle, Lucia Isabella Gilbert

Here was all the solid foundation knocked from under him at one fell stroke, as if by a cannon.

From The "Genius" by Dreiser, Theodore

In another severe storm all the reindeer got away; and, of course, a valuable supply of fresh meat, besides transport, was cut off at one fell stroke.

From Notable Voyagers From Columbus to Nordenskiold by Kingston, William Henry Giles