Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- a covert, unsportsmanlike, and illegal act of deliberate roughness, especially in football, often calculated to injure an opponent.
- any mean or unsportsmanlike remark or action, especially one directed at a defenseless or vulnerable person.
An unfair or unsporting verbal attack, as in You called him an amateur? That’s really taking a cheap shot. The term originated in sports, especially American football, where it signifies deliberate roughness against an unprepared opponent. [Slang; second half of 1900s]