gun for hire

American  

noun

plural

guns for hire

1. a person armed with a gun and paid to provide security or act as an assassin or mercenary.

2. in business, an outside specialist or expert who is retained to work on a particular project and then dismissed.

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Example Sentences

“I’m a founder C.E.O., not just a corporate gun for hire, so I’m bringing that baggage to the table with me.”

From New York Times

One of his earliest meaty film roles came in this Western, in which Caan plays a young man nicknamed Mississippi, who is the associate of an older gun for hire played by John Wayne.

From New York Times

"I do think overall I can give a reasonable opinion to the court," he said, adding he was not a "gun for hire" and that appearing in this case had been "tiresome, time-consuming and unpleasant".

From BBC

It’s only fitting that Neeson the action star is a gun for hire, drifting on the dusty margins of the industry and taking the jobs when they come.

From Washington Post

The important thing, he says, is that he wasn’t just a “gun for hire,” a big name brought on to help promote the show.

From The Verge