ax to grind

Idioms  

1. A selfish aim or motive, as in The article criticized the new software, but the author had an ax to grind, as its manufacturer had fired his son. This frequently used idiom comes from a story by Charles Miner, published in 1811, about a boy who was flattered into turning the grindstone for a man sharpening his ax. He worked hard until the school bell rang, whereupon the man, instead of thanking the boy, began to scold him for being late and told him to hurry to school. “Having an ax to grind” then came into figurative use for having a personal motive for some action. [Mid-1800s]

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Example Sentences

“That sort of thing to get away from special interest groups having an ax to grind then and then, abusing the corporate governance process for their ends,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2026

It has no ideological ax to grind, although it makes a persuasive case for the expansiveness of American poetry as a parallel to the definition of Americanness itself.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 19, 2025

He didn’t come off as a man with an ax to grind, but a small, petty individual who had been taken advantage of by a much more powerful man he all but worshipped.

From Slate • May 14, 2024

The prosecutors pushed back that Yeartie was a disgruntled former employee with an ax to grind against Willis.

From Salon • Feb. 16, 2024

In saying what I said just now," he began, in what he tried to make a reasonable tone, "I've no ax to grind for myself.

From The Street Called Straight by Lowell, Orson