knock someone's block off

English

Alternative forms

• knock off someone's block

Verb

knock someone's block off

1. (idiomatic) To strike a person in the head, causing him to fall to the ground, especially in an unconscious condition; to beat up a person.
   • 1895 Feb. 12, "Ring Gossip," Providence News (USA), p. 6 (retrieved 6 July 2011):

     "I can't stand the sight of him," he would say, "and I'd be glad if somebody would come along and knock his block off—when he was not in the ring."

   • 1941 June 23, "People," Time:

     An airport cab starter threatened to knock Fiorello H. LaGuardia's block off when the New York Mayor parked his car across the taxi line.

   • 1957 Jan. 25, "Guard Chief Irked," Rock Hill Herald (USA), p. 4 (retrieved 6 July 2011):

     "If anyone wants to call a guardsman a draft dodger, tell him to stand in front of me and say it and I'll knock his block off," Gen. Fluck said.

   • 2008 Feb. 23, James Barron, "Man Departs a Life Lived on the Fringes of Fame ," New York Times (retrieved 6 July 2011):

     Mr. Gottfried said Miller announced, “I'm going to knock your block off”— and punched Mr. Jones, who was thrown against a buffet table.

See also

• knock someone off his perch
• knock someone's socks off