“Low on the count” is an English idiom that refers to losing a fight or failing. It originated in the 1920s and is commonly associated with boxing. Similar phrases include “out for the count” and “TKO.” It should not be confused with “down and out,” which implies long-term failure.
When an English speaker talks about someone who is “low on the count,” they are most often referring to a situation where the subject has lost a fight or otherwise failed. The idiom is a sports metaphor expressing a negative outcome for whoever or whatever the speaker is referring to. This phrase is also used in the entertainment world, for example in the names of artists and musical groups.
Many people trace the origin of this phrase to the 1920s. Some see it as an American idiom in general, although usage of the phrase may be common and in other English-speaking societies. A similar phrase, “out for the count” goes back almost the same way. This alternate phrase refers more to a loss of consciousness, hence the preposition “out” rather than “down.”
The alternative phrases “down for the count” and “out for the count” both refer to the same types of contact sports. Above all, many people associate these idioms with the sport of boxing. In boxing, a “count of ten” gives the player who has fallen down a chance to get up and continue fighting. If that person is down during the count, they have not been able to recover and have lost the fight.
Some similar phrases are sometimes used for this type of situation. For example, someone who is using the phrase idiomatically might as well call something a “TKO.” The acronym stands for total knockout, which often results in the player being “out of the count.” Speakers can also use the simpler “KO” for knockout as a verb, for example saying “the high tax rate knocked out the project”.
It’s important to distinguish these idioms from the phrase “down and out.” While “down and out” may have originally been a sports metaphor, it is much more associated with bad luck and failure in general than with immediate failure, as “down for the count” implies. The use of the phrase “down for the count” implies that the failed side has lost the immediate battle, but may be able to recover soon and retry the failed scenario.
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