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hired gun

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noun, Informal.
1.
a person hired to kill someone, as a gunfighter or professional killer.
2.
a person hired to bear arms and fight for another, as a bodyguard or mercenary.
3.
a person, as a politician or lobbyist, skilled at attaining power for others.
4.
a person hired to resolve difficult problems or disputes or to handle complex legal or business problems.
Origin of hired gun
1965-1970
First recorded in 1965-70
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2017.
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Contemporary Examples
Slang definitions & phrases for hired gun

hired gun

modifier

: elaborated on his ''hired gun'' reference in an interview

noun phrase

  1. A professional killer; hit man (1958+)
  2. An employee or agent, esp in some aggressive capacity: We're not just ''hired guns'' out to raise a few bucks for the place/ Keith is not going anywhere as a hired gun for one year (1970s+)
The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.
Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.
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Idioms and Phrases with hired gun

hired gun

1.
A person, especially a professional killer, employed to kill someone, as in They thought the murder had been done by a hired gun. The noun gun has been slang for a professional criminal since the mid-1800s.
2.
A person with special knowledge or expertise who is employed to resolve a complex problem. For example, The legal team was looking for a hired gun to handle the antitrust angle of the case. [ ; 1960s ]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Difficulty index for hired gun

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Word Value for hired

9
8
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Nearby words for hired gun

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