one fell swoop
All at once
One fell swoop describes a single, swift action that accomplishes everything at once.
The phrase comes from Shakespeare's Macbeth, where "fell" means fierce or deadly—a hawk's sudden dive onto prey.
Modern usage has lost the violence: She answered all her emails in one fell swoop.
The phrase always appears in this fixed form.
- all at onceOccurring without gradual buildup
- in a flashWithout any delay
- abruptSharp and unexpected
- suddenOccurring without prior notice
- immediateHappening without delay
Macbeth · Lady Macbeth · Shakespearean · decisive · bold move · in a heartbeat · comprehensive · wholesale · coup · transformative · clean sweep · stroke · irreversible · simultaneous · in one go · one shot · single blow · swift
- Shakespeare phrasesto be or not to be, et tu Brute, all the world's a stage, out damned spot, friends Romans countrymen
one fell swoopgradually
In slow stages
piecemeal · incrementally · bit by bit · little by little · step by step
one fell swoopover time
Across a duration
slowly · eventually · drawn out · protracted · leisurely
one fell swooppiecemeal
In separate stages
serially · one by one · fragmentarily · separately · individually
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