Skip to content
ontologydriven
Sign out

Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

below the belt en · ADP

Pronunciation

  • /bəˈloʊ ðə bɛlt/ (US)
  • /bɪˈləʊ ðiː bɛlt/ (UK)
  • (Australia) audio

Meanings

  1. Of a punch, landing illegally, below the opponent's waist.
  2. (broadly, idiomatic) Unfair; dirty; not according to the generally accepted rules.
    • Mr. Nixon attacked Mr. [Hubert] Humphrey with gusto, sounding to an unusual degree like Mr. Humphrey attacking Mr. Nixon. He said he knew his opponents were in trouble because “you know politicians are behind when they start to name call, when they start to panic, to hit below the belt.” 1968 October 18, R[aymond] W[alter] Apple Jr., “[Richard] Nixon Again Backs a Bombing Pause if It Costs No Lives”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:
    • Commenting on his bachelorhood in a debate on marital ethics was a bit below the belt, don't you think?
  3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see below, the, belt.
    • For quotations using this term, see Citations:below the belt.

Deriveds

hit below the belt

Relateds

low blow · under one's belt

Translations (23)

pl poniżej pasa ((boxing) of a punch that lands below the opponent's waist) · hu övön aluli (unfair; not according to the rules) · hu övön alul (unfair; not according to the rules) · pl poniżej pasa (unfair; not according to the rules) · fr en dessous de la ceinture (unfair; not according to the rules) · de unter der Gürtellinie (unfair; not according to the rules) · ru ни́же пояса (unfair; not according to the rules) · hu övön alul ((boxing) of a punch that lands below the opponent's waist) · nl onder de gordel ((boxing) of a punch that lands below the opponent's waist) · hu övön aluli ((boxing) of a punch that lands below the opponent's waist) · it scorretto (unfair; not according to the rules) · is undir beltisstað ((boxing) of a punch that lands below the opponent's waist) · sv under bältet (unfair; not according to the rules) · ru ни́же пояса ((boxing) of a punch that lands below the opponent's waist) · fi vyön alle ((boxing) of a punch that lands below the opponent's waist) · es de golpe bajo (unfair; not according to the rules) · fr déloyal (unfair; not according to the rules) · is undir beltisstað (unfair; not according to the rules) · nl onder de gordel (unfair; not according to the rules) · fi vyön alle (unfair; not according to the rules) · ga buille íseal ((boxing) of a punch that lands below the opponent's waist) · sv under bältet ((boxing) of a punch that lands below the opponent's waist) · de unter der Gürtellinie ((boxing) of a punch that lands below the opponent's waist)