knee-jerk

knee-jerk • n. a sudden involuntary reflex kick caused by a blow on the tendon just below the knee. • adj. (of a response) automatic and unthinking: a knee-jerk reaction. ∎  (of a person) responding in this way: knee-jerk radicals.

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"knee-jerk." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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