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