Why Do We Say “In One Fell Swoop”?
As the old superstition goes, it’s bad luck to say “Macbeth” inside a theater, lest you risk cursing the production. But there are plenty of other words and phrases coined in this Shakespearean tragedy that are perfectly OK to say wherever and whenever you choose. Take, for example, the phrase
“one fell swoop,” whose popularity is owed to William Shakespeare. As a whole, the phrase “in one fell swoop” means “with a single, quick action or effort.” But to better understand it, let’s look at the individual components. The word “fell” has nothing to do with the verb “to fall”...
