hatchet man

or hatch·et·man

See synonyms for hatchet man on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a professional murderer.

  2. a writer or speaker who specializes in defamatory attacks, as on political candidates or public officials.

  1. a person whose job it is to execute unpleasant tasks for a superior, as dismissing employees.

Origin of hatchet man

1
An Americanism dating back to 1745–55

Words Nearby hatchet man

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use hatchet man in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for hatchet man

hatchet man

nouninformal
  1. a person carrying out unpleasant assignments for an employer or superior

  2. US and Canadian a hired murderer

  1. a severe or malicious critic

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with hatchet man

hatchet man

A person assigned or hired to carry out a disagreeable task or unscrupulous order. For example, When it came to firing an employee, Arthur was his boss's hatchet man. This expression originally referred to a hired assassin but in the mid-1900s was transferred to less nefarious enterprises.

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