1891. Daily Telegraph, 21 Mar. For the third time this year, they
managed, after a drawn game, to knock out the much fancied
Sunderland team.
5. (Oxford University).—To leave college after hours: of out of college
men only. See Knock in and Knocking out.
1861. H. Kingsley, Ravenshoe, vii. Five out-college men had knocked
out at a quarter to three, refusing to give any name but the
dean’s.
1861. T. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford, xlv. p. 503 [ed. 1864].
‘Hullo!’ he said, getting up; ‘time for me to knock out, or old
Copas will be in bed.’
To knock out of time, verb. phr. (pugilistic).—So to punish an opponent
that he is not able to answer the call of ‘Time’.
1884. Saturday Review, 16 Jan., p. 108, col. 1. A man of weak
physique is apt to be knocked out of time by a more robust though
less skilful adversary.
1891. Licensed Vict. Minor, 30 Jan., p. 7, col. 2. He had, in fact,
almost played with Tom with the gloves, and once, at Jem Ward’s
benefit, when both were a little bit pricked, had knocked the
Redditch man bang off his legs, and very nearly out of time.
To knock the spots off (or out of), verb. phr. (American).—To surpass;
to confound; to thrash; to excel.
1887. Francis, Saddle & Mocassin, 152. She can knock the spots out
of these boys at that game.
1888. Pall Mall Budget, 26 Ap., p. 5. An American gentleman has
just sailed for Sydney to knock spots out of the rabbits.
To knock the bottom (stuffing, wadding, lining, filling, or inside) out
of, verb. phr. (common).—To confound; to surpass; to floor (q.v.); to
thrash; to finish off.
1889. Sporting Times, 3 Aug., p. 3, col. 1. ‘Hold hard—here he is.
Good ev’ning, sir ’aven’t the pleasure of knowing you, but saw you
knock the stuffing out of the ring to-day. Done well?’
1891. Bellamy, Dr. Heidenhoff’s Process, p. 52. This cool ignoring
of all that had happened that day in modifying their relations at
one blow knocked the bottom out of all his thinking for the past
week.
To knock smoke out of, verb. phr. (colonial).—To try; to vanquish
utterly.
1888. Rolf Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, xi. You ought to have
sense enough not to knock smoke out of fresh horses before we
begin. Ibid. xxxix. A regiment or a man-of-war’s crew like him
would knock smoke out of any other thousand men the world could put
up.
To knock saucepans out of, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To run amuck.
1888. Rolf Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms, xxvi. ‘He’ll begin to
knock saucepans out of all the boys between here and Weddin
Mountain.’
To knock out of the wedges, verb. phr. (American).—To desert; to leave
in a difficulty.
To knock round. See To knock about.
To knock under, verb. phr. (old: now colloquial).—To yield; to give
out; to confess defeat.
1668. Dryden, An Evening’s Love, v. Knock under, you rogue, and
confess me conqueror.
1691–2. Gentlemen’s Journal, Mar., p. 10. He that flinches his
glass, and to drink is not able, Let him quarrel no more, but knock
under the table.
1703. The Levellers, in Harl. Misc. (ed. Park), v. 447. Now, my
dear, though I must acknowledge our sex to be extraordinary
vicious, we will not knock under-board to the men.
1719. Durfey, Pills etc., i. 27. Who with Water and Cannon Mahon
did take, And make the Pope knock under.
c. 1730. A. Ramsay, Address of Thanks, in Wks. (1851), ii. 347.
They will be forced to thumb your belt, At last and a’ knock under.
1782. Geo. Parker, Humorous Sketches, p. 164. When fame from
ministers is flown, ’Tis time they should knock under.
1844. Puck, p. 82. Says mighty Dan to the Sassenach chain, I never
will knock under.
1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. etc., iii. 71. Several had tried it,
but they had to knock under very soon.
1852. Thackeray, Esmond, iii. 4. Colonel Esmond knocked under to
his fate.
1866. Argosy, No. 2, p. 191. So the Emperor of Austria has knocked
under, and the Hungarian Diet has met for the first time for
sixteen years. They have conquered by the force of passive
resistance. It is the grandest thing since our Long Parliament.
1871. Five Years’ Penal Servitude, iii. 223. The men are drove into
being reg’lar devils by being constantly down upon by the blooming
officers. Them as ’as any pluck in ’em turns savage, and them as
’asn’t they knocks under, as I did, and gets ill, and lots on ’em
dies.
1872. Daily Telegraph, 29 Aug. Finally, he knocked under with an
abjectness which made every true American blush from the tips of
his hair to the soles of his boots.
To knock up, verb. phr. (Christ’s Hospital).—1. To gain a place in
class: e.g. I knocked up and ‘I knocked Jones up.’ The Hertford
equivalent is ox up (q.v.).