Ah, the “one armed bandit”! It is the name for a gambling machine that pays off according to the matching of symbols on wheels spun by a handle (the arm). “Bandit” because you lose more often than you win.
The phrase “at one fell swoop” is said by Lord Macduff in William Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth when he learns that Macbeth grief-stricken, utters, “What, all my pretty chickens and their dam at one fell swoop?” his phrase is a metaphor comparing Macbeth’s act to that of a hawk swooping down on defenceless prey, and fell here means “fierce, cruel, terrible.” The phrase conveys both the suddenness and fierceness of the attack as well as the helplessness of the victims.
Today the phrase “at one fell swoop” is used to mean “all at once” or “with a single concentrated effort.” The phrase can also be “in one fell swoop.”
An event or business might be said to be a “one-horse affair,” (dull), you might find yourself in a “one-horse town”, with nothing to do.
“One-trick pony” refers to someone or something that is skilled or successful in only one area (like a circus pony which has been taught one trick). In American slang, it means a person or thing that has little to offer.
The verb “one-up,” meaning “to outdo or get an advantage over (someone),” entered English in the 1960s and is a back-formation from “one-upmanship”, meaning “the art or practice of outdoing or keeping one jump ahead of a friend or a competitor.”
Picture Credit : Google