heads will roll


Someone will be severely punished, as in If no one meets the chairman's plane, heads will roll. This hyperbolic expression alludes to the punishment of being beheaded.

Words Nearby heads will roll

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.