Wednesday, 4 June 2008

Why "At One Fell Swoop"?



First of all I should explain what "At One Fell Swoop" actually means. The phrase comes from Shakespeare:

"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 passage is from Macbeth where Macduff hears his family has been killed. Shakespeare uses the speed of the kite's descent onto it's prey to convey savagery Macbeth has deployed against Macduff.

The phrase nowadays is used to mean sudden. This is why I am using it as it for me describes the way a provocative thought can suddenly enter your head...




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