English

Prepositional phrase

like a ton of bricks

1. (simile, colloquial) Very strongly; very heavily; often unexpectedly.
   • 1884 February 2, Punch, page 52:

     The Defendant then came down on me like a ton of bricks, as my eye will prove.

   • 2000, United States Senate, The Boomers are Coming: The Challenge of Family Caregiving : Hearing Before the Special Committee on Aging, United States Senate, One Hundred Sixth Congress, First Session, Monroe, LA, October 11, 1999, ISBN 0160604451, page 34:

     Senator Breaux: Did you see this coming on gradually, or did it hit you all of a sudden like a ton of bricks?