to knock the wind out of somebody
[knock|take] the wind out of {one's} sailsto knock the wind out of somebody
01
to do something, particularly something others do not expect, in order to make them feel less confident or important
![to [knock] the (wind|breath|stuffing) out of {sb} definition and meaning](https://cdn.langeek.co/photo/42676/original/?type=jpeg "to [knock] the (wind|breath|stuffing) out of {sb} definition and meaning")
Disapproving
Idiom
Informal
例
Sorry, I did n't mean to knock the wind out of your sails or anything. I just do n't want you getting your hopes up about this.
When he found out that he did n't get the job, it really knocked the stuffing out of him.
