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Reader question: Please explain “gut punch”, as in “a psychological gut punch to the middle class”. My comments: This means a hard blow psychologically to the middle class. Psychologically because “gut punch” is not supposed to be taken literally here. If economic stormy weather is forecast, for example, that there is to be stagnation or slowdown or even a recession, then that may be a collective gut punch to the middle class, i.e. the working class. How? Well, when there is an economic crisis, businesses want to scale back and one of the things they tend to do is lay off workers, and your company may be one of the companies to do so. And you may be one of them being laid off and so you’ll be out of work through no fault of your own. Well, it may not happen. Not all companies scale back and lay off workers, of course and your company may not be amongst those affected. But the sheer possibility of that happening will be hurtful enough, won’t it? Yes, of course. That’s why any prospect of a downturn constitutes a psychological blow to the middle class, who, unlike the rich who live off inheritance or the stock market or interests from money in the bank, cannot afford to lose their job. It’s their rice bowl. Families and children may go hungry. A sad prospect to be sure. All right. Back to gut punch. That literally refers to a punch to the gut or the stomach. To punch is to thrust a blow with a clenched fist and the gut area or our belly is usually tender and soft. If we receive a punch to our stomach, we may lose our breath momentarily, to say the least. | 
