Meaning of under the knife | Babel Free

Definitions

Chiefly preceded by a form of go: undergoing a surgical procedure; into surgery.

informal

Equivalents

Examples

“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"— […]”

“"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.”

CEFR level