Brewer's: Belt

To hit below the belt. To strike unfairly. It is prohibited in prize-fighting to hit below the waistbelt. To call men knaves and fools, to charge a man with nepotism, to make a slanderous report which is not actionable, indeed to take away a man's character in any way where self-defence is impossible, is “hitting him below the belt.”

“Lord Salisbury hits hard, but never hits below the belt.” —Daily Telegraph, November, 1885.

To hold the belt.
To be the champion. In pugilism, etc., a belt is passed on to the champion.
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
Beltane
Belphoebe
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Related Content

✖
 

 

sandbbox logo
©2022 Sandbox Networks Inc. All rights reserved. Sandbox Learning is part of Sandbox & Co., a digital learning company.