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

By one fell stroke he was put in second place, a man who had to await the return of Palmer—and that in his own church, so to speak.

From Twelve Men by Dreiser, Theodore

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.

At one fell stroke all petty annoyances and corroding cares are sunk into nothingness.

From Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great - Volume 05 Little Journeys to the Homes of English Authors by Hubbard, Elbert

Now, at one fell stroke, his villainy lay exposed.

From Five Thousand Dollars Reward by Pinkerton, A. Frank [pseud.]