knee-jerk

Related to knee-jerk: knee-jerk reflex

knee-jerk

1. Spontaneous, reflexive, and unthinking. We don't want to make knee-jerk decisions that could have unforeseen consequences. I know my knee-jerk reaction to the film's ending was mostly negative, but over time I've come to appreciate its subtlety and poignancy.
2. Describing those who react in a predictably thoughtless and automatic manner. Unsurprisingly, there has been a call to have the book banned from schools by a number of knee-jerk parents. Yet again we have a bunch of knee-jerk politicians trying to clamp down on a thriving new industry just to protect the status quo.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

knee-jerk

mod. automatic; quick and without thought. That was only a knee-jerk response. Pay no attention.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • knee-jerk reaction
  • put a jerk in it
  • dorkmeier
  • I’ll bite
  • I'll bite
  • push past
  • titless wonder
  • stuck-up
  • dorkmunder
  • feel small
References in periodicals archive
Nationalisation was not a stated aim of SNP policy and this shipyard decision sits uneasily alongside the knee-jerk decision (against sound advice from aviation insiders) to buy Prestwick Airport in 2013, and subsequently lose PS40m more of taxpayers' money.
"Biglang nag-file si Keon so knee-jerk reaction I went to Comelec.
"We decided quite early in the week the team we were going to play, and it wasn't a knee-jerk reaction to last weekend," insisted Ross.
And if City had got the draw they probably deserved the knee-jerk narrative would have been that they were right to play more cautiously.
These views, as we said are the product of knee-jerk reactions.
"The new rules are not necessarily a knee-jerk reaction but just the GAA looking at itself as it always does in a way that, you know, 'can we improve the game?'.
"It seems a knee-jerk reaction from the government.
The PAJC communique asked both governments to restrain their 'official spokespersons from making knee-jerk statements in situations involving the two countries'.
Pakistan strongly condemned the Kabul attack on Saturday evening and later rejected 'the knee-jerk allegations by some Afghan circles to point the finger at Pakistan' for it.
Summary: 'As soon as news of interception started coming in, there was knee-jerk reaction'
The Auld Enemy have been handed a dream draw with Tunisia, Panama and Belgium but when asked if there would be no knee-jerk reaction if it all goes wrong, Glenn said: "Basically, yes.
But despite insisting there will be no 'knee-jerk reactions', Regan and other Hampden chiefs are due to discuss the direction of the national team at a board meeting tomorrow.
Dionardo Carlos said the purchase of body cameras appeared to be a knee-jerk reaction to alleged abuses and handheld radios could prove more helpful in operations.
She explained her resistance to holding up the metaphorical banner of "Je suis Charlie" as part of an effort not to jump to conclusions, not to join in groupthink, to avoid having knee-jerk reactions just because everyone else was vulnerable to them.