cheap shot

noun

1. a covert, unsportsmanlike, and illegal act of deliberate roughness, especially in football, often calculated to injure an opponent.
2. any mean or unsportsmanlike remark or action, especially one directed at a defenseless or vulnerable person.

Idioms and Phrases

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]

Example Sentences

Yes, Trump animates his base with the ugly vitriol and cheap shots.

From Salon

Baker: Please donate somebody that consistently intimidates opponents into not taking cheap shots at good Kraken players.

From Seattle Times

Old Kraken pal Martin Pospisil — he of ongoing cheap shots — avoided supplemental discipline after getting ejected again for leaving his feet on a dangerous check.

From Seattle Times

“I don’t even go there because there were other plays in that game, too, from the other team,” Cronin said, apparently alluding to cheap shots.

From Los Angeles Times

This in some ways can be seen as a cheap shot, easily levelled by any critic.

From BBC

Related Words

• abuse
• affront
• blasphemy
• contempt
• disgrace
• disrespect
• indignity
• invective
• libel
• outrage
• put-down
• scorn
• shame
• slander
• slap
• slight
• snub
• taunt