English

Verb

knock someone off his perch

1. (idiomatic) To defeat or overcome someone who was in a dominant position.
   • 2004 September 7, “Singh on top of the world”, in The Guardian:

     Tiger Woods has been knocked off his perch as the No1 player in the world after Vijay Singh beat him in the Deutsche Bank Open last night.

   • 2005 May 16, The Associated Press, “Kanaan Wins Indy Pole; Patrick Settles for Fourth”, in New York Times:

     He was the third qualifier of the day and posted a 4-lap, 10-mile qualifying average of 227.566 miles an hour on the two-and-a-half-mile oval, then had to wait through nearly six hours while other drivers tried to knock him off his perch.

   • 2011 July 4, Alistair Magowan quoting Kelly Smith, “Women's World Cup: England out to dethrone Germany”, in BBC Sport:

     "It would be nice to knock the Germans off their perch, with them winning the last European Championship and the World Cup."

See also

• knock someone's block off
• knock someone's socks off