poleaxe

An ax having both a blade and a hammer face; used to slaughter cattle.

A long-handled battle axe, being a combination of ax, hammer and pike.

To fell someone with, or as if with, a poleaxe.

To astonish; to shock or surprise utterly.

Lisa Griffin, who runs Brew Rock and an Irish pub in nearby Benidorm, was as poleaxed by the announcement as her customers were.

To stymie, thwart, cripple, paralyze.

After a lacklustre campaign that has failed to grapple with Germany’s looming problems, the world should expect post-election coalition talks to last for months, poleaxing European politics while they drag on.