1. Home
2. Idioms
3. cheap shot

cheap shot

---

---

cheap shot

1. A physical blow struck against someone who is unready or unprepared. If often applies to sports in which physical contact is involved. Duane just sucker-punched Jimbo. What a cheap shot! The boxer took a cheap shot against his opponent before the round started, and the referee halted the match.

2. A mean or unfair criticism. I didn't appreciate that cheap shot you took at me at the party. You made me look foolish in front of our friends.

See also: cheap, shot

cheap shot

An unfair or unsporting verbal attack, as in You called him an amateur? That's really taking a cheap shot. The term originated in sports, especially American football, where it signifies deliberate roughness against an unprepared opponent. [Slang; second half of 1900s]

See also: cheap, shot

cheap shot

n. a remark that takes advantage of someone else’s vulnerability. It’s easy to get a laugh with a cheap shot at cats.

See also: cheap, shot