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hatchet job

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hatchet job ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a maliciously destructive critique or act: The special committee has done a hatchet job on the new proposal.

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RELATED WORDS

defamation, calumniation, dismantlement

Nearby words

  1. hatcheck,
  2. hatchel,
  3. hatchery,
  4. hatchet,
  5. hatchet face,
  6. hatchet man,
  7. hatchetfish,
  8. hatchettine,
  9. hatchettite,
  10. hatchetwork

Origin of hatchet job

First recorded in 1940–45
Also called ax job.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for hatchet job

hatchet job

noun

informal a malicious or devastating verbal or written attack
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with hatchet job

hatchet job

see hatchet man, def. 2.

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