Hit below the belt

Meaning

To act unfairly or to attack someone in a vulnerable, sensitive area. It describes a move that violates the unwritten rules of decent conduct.

Defensive, indignant

Used in a sentence

• Bringing up my divorce during an office meeting was a real hit below the belt.
• That joke about his family was a hit below the belt even for a comedian.
• She won the argument, but it felt like a hit below the belt.