under the knife en · ADP
Pronunciation
- /ˌʌndəɹ ðə ˈnaɪf/ (General-American)
- /ˌʌndə ðə ˈnaɪf/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- (General-American) audio
Etymology
A reference to the situation of a patient lying on an operating table while a surgeon stands over them and operates using a surgical cutting tool (typically a scalpel).
Meanings
-
(informal) Chiefly preceded by a form of go: undergoing a surgical procedure; into surgery.
"I don't want to go under the knife again. I had 10 surgeries as a player and many more since," [Lenny] Dykstra said, speaking as though he still had his trademark wad of tobacco in his mouth.
2006 August 19, Michael S. Schmidt, “After Shea, life diverges for two Mets”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 26 Jan 2021:Rumor that De Gaulle [i.e., Charles de Gaulle] was under the knife sped through Paris and the world the next morning. The staff at the Elysee Palace, De Gaulle's official residence, refused for hours either to confirm or deny the story; […] Finally, at 7:15 p.m., a bulletin signed by three doctors said that De Gaulle had been operated on that morning for "a disease of the prostate"— […]
1964 April 24, “France: Operation Royal”, in Roy Alexander, editor, Time, New York, N.Y.: Time Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 26 Aug 2009:
Translations (14)
de unters Messer (undergoing a surgical procedure) · no under kniven (undergoing a surgical procedure) · de unter dem Messer (undergoing a surgical procedure) · sv under kniven (undergoing a surgical procedure) · es bajo el cuchillo (undergoing a surgical procedure) · ga faoi scian (undergoing a surgical procedure) · cy dan y gyllell (undergoing a surgical procedure) · fr sur le billard (undergoing a surgical procedure) · it sotto i ferri (undergoing a surgical procedure) · fi leikkaukseen (undergoing a surgical procedure) · nl onder het mes (undergoing a surgical procedure) · da under kniven (undergoing a surgical procedure) · cmn 開刀 /开刀 (undergoing a surgical procedure) · fr passer sur le billard (undergoing a surgical procedure)