all at once, simultaneously
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At one fell swoop Definition from Language, Idioms & Slang Dictionaries & Glossaries
Origin
From Shakespeare's Macbeth.
MACDUFF: [on hearing that his family and servants have all been killed]
He has no children. All my pretty ones?
Did you say all? O hell-kite! All?
What, all my pretty chickens and their dam
At one fell swoop?
The kite referred to is a hunting bird, like the Red Kite, which was common in England in Tudor times. The 'fell swoop' (or stoop as is now said) is the rapid descent made by the bird when capturing prey.
© 2004 The Phrase Finder. Take a look at Phrase Finder’s sister site, the Phrases Thesaurus, a subscription service for professional writers & language lovers.From Shakespeare's Macbeth.
MACDUFF: [on hearing that his family and servants have all been killed]
He has no children. All my pretty ones?
Did you say all? O hell-kite! All?
What, all my pretty chickens and their dam
At one fell swoop?
The kite referred to is a hunting bird, like the Red Kite, which was common in England in Tudor times. The 'fell swoop' (or stoop as is now said) is the rapid descent made by the bird when capturing prey.
See in one fell swoop
