down but not out

Definitions

Temporarily incapacitated but not permanently defeated.

idiomatic, not-comparable

Examples

“He raised dim eyes to her, eyes that seemed already filmed with death's opaque curtains, but bravely, slowly smiled. "I'm down, but not out, darlin'. That brute of a doctor jolted me hard; I nearly took the count⟳—but I'm—still in the ring⟳.[…]"”

“The intention is not to make⟳ it a hotel for downs and outs, the riffraff of Chicago’s slums, but to have⟳ it a hotel where men who are ‘down’ but not ‘out’ can obtain⟳ comfortable rooms and wholesome food at nominal prices.”

“By midnight, two hours after the polls had closed, the first results showed a massive 10 per cent swing⟳ right across the country. […] A defeated David Cameron and his wife, Samantha, left the count⟳ down but not out.”

CEFR level