Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Wiktionary
alt. 1 (context boxing English) A hard punch struck to the torso. 2 (context idiomatic by extension English) A serious setback; a traumatize event which prevents or hinders continuation of an activity. n. 1 (context boxing English) A hard punch struck to the torso. 2 (context idiomatic by extension English) A serious setback; a traumatize event which prevents or hinders continuation of an activity.
Wikipedia
Body Blow is the second studio album by New Zealand rock band the Headless Chickens. It was originally released in 1991, then rereleased for Australian in 1993 with a substantially reworked track list, losing "Crash Hot" and "Road Train" but gaining "Mr Moon", "Juice", "Choppers" and some remixes. Body Blow was the Headless Chickens most successful album, including three top-10 singles and achieving double platinum sales. The album includes a cover of "Inside Track", originally recorded as "The Inside Track" by New Zealand new wave band Stridulators.
Reviewed in Rolling Stone Australia, the first single, "Gaskrankinstation", was noted for its inability to be categorised. It was described as a "tragic saga of a callous fool trapped in a dumb job and a loveless marriage. The tempo builds inexorably with the sense of an impending catastrophe."
Usage examples of "body blow".
The plant closing, one of many we had endured over the last two years, dealt a body blow to the economy of Poinsett County and had a discouraging impact on the whole state.
Defeating her, hopefully decisively, at the same time Thunderbolt is crunching up the Manties' frontier systems, will be a body blow to the Manty public's confidence and willingness to fight.