sucker punch

Related to sucker punch: lobotomy

sucker punch

1. noun A punch dealt when the other person isn't looking or prepared. I knew I was a match for the guy, but he landed a sucker punch after his friend distracted me. The fighter was thrown out of the boxing league for landing a sucker punch on his opponent after the round ended.
2. noun Any defeat or setback that was particularly unexpected and damaging. The hidden recordings of the mayor's backdoor meetings with industry lobbyists has been a sucker punch to her re-election campaign. These interest rate hikes are just the latest in a series of sucker punches to homeowners struggling to meet their mortgage payments and keep their homes in the struggling economy.
3. verb To throw or land a punch dealt when the other person isn't looking or prepared. Sometimes hyphenated. The guy sucker punched Alex when he turned to go to the bathroom, putting him in a coma. If sucker-punching your opponent is what you consider a manly way of dealing with a dispute, then you have no concept of what real masculinity is.
See also: punch, sucker
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

sucker punch

An unexpected blow, as in They felt that suddenly raising the interest rate was a sucker punch to the administration. This expression comes from boxing, where it is used for a punch delivered unexpectedly; boxing great Jack Dempsey wrote, "The right lead [for a right-handed boxer] is called a sucker punch." [Slang; mid-1900s]
See also: punch, sucker
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
See also:
  • punch up
  • land a punch
  • take a punch at (someone or something)
  • pack a punch
  • pack a wallop/punch, to
  • bop
  • Sunday punch
  • take a poke at
  • take a poke at somebody/something
  • take a poke at someone
References in periodicals archive
While Boro can rightly feel aggrieved by the second half decisions at the Riverside, they should have had the game wrapped up long before conceding that last gasp sucker punch.
Pulis furious at Fulham vs Middlesbrough penalty decisions - and he wasn't the only one; Referee Geoff Eltringham waved away penalty claims when Martin Braithwaite hit the deck - but later awarded Fulham a last gasp spot kick
The current management team and company founders will continue to run the studioa[euro](tm)s day-to-day operations as part of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios (SCE WWS).Country: , USASector: Computer Software, Leisure/ArtsTarget: Sucker Punch ProductionsBuyer: Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE)Type: Corporate acquisitionStatus: Closed
Sony acquires US game developer Sucker Punch
According to the company, the addition of Sucker Punch Productions furthers SCE's commitment to creative excellence in game development on PlayStation platforms and marks the 16th studio to join the SCE WWS family.
Sony Computer Entertainment announces acquisition of Sucker Punch Productions
BARGAIN BUY: pounds 29.99 at www.bestbuy.co.uk Doodle Jump (Sucker Punch, Windows Phone) I'M a sucker for a decent platformer - and they don't come more decent than this.
BITZ
High School Musical's Vanessa Hudgens, 22, ditched her clean-cut image by appearing in movie Sucker Punch, wearing a tight leather catsuit and high-heeled boots.
BLIMEY CYRUS
For older viewers who want to be dazzled by a director at the top of his video-game style, Sucker Punch will satisfy on a superficial level.
Snyder's unable to add depth to dazzling visuals
And they certainly do in Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch, one of the highly hyped movies of the year.
Abbie's happy to show girls pack a punch too; Interview: Abbie Cornish
London, Mar 30 (ANI): Abbie Cornish has stripped off for the new issue of Esquire magazine to promote her sexy new role in girl power action film 'Sucker Punch'.
Abbie Cornish strips off to promote her sexy new role in 'Sucker Punch'
Sucker Punch is a wild and wonderful epic action fantasy brimming with shoot-outs, special effects and a seriously sexy group of lead actresses in snug costumes fighting their way through a plethora of enemies.
THE HIT GIRLS; YOUR MOVIES
An "inFAMOUS 2" title created for PS3 by Sucker Punch studio gets players even more involved by letting them design missions to share with others linked to a PlayStation online community.
Play Station 3 videogames put players into the action
If the best place to hit your enemy is the wallet, a Seattle writer has devised the perfect sucker punch for Focus on the Family.
Gifts for you from the far right
Although the home side dominated possession they did not have the ammunition to get the better of the visitors after falling to an early sucker punch.
Lee's equaliser saves blushes
We are set up for the typical upbeat but zany ending as we glimpse crusty old Frank reading Yeats and Gaelic and attending daily Mass, but then the story winds down to its sucker punch ending.
Million dollar sucker punch: people with disabilities take on the culture of death
Bobby Robson's side enjoyed a wealth of possession, but with Everton resolute in defence and tigerish in midfield they laboured to break them down and were eventually caught by a sucker punch.
NEWCASTLE...0 EVERTON...1
Saints, meanwhile, were caught by a 'sucker punch' in their derby draw with Bohemians on Friday having been 2-0 up but Liam Buckley has told his players not to dwell on it.
FRUSTRATED KENNY WANTS LILYWHITES BACK ON FORM