heads will roll
Someone will be severely punished, as in If no one meets the chairman's plane, heads will roll. This hyperbolic expression alludes to the punishment of being beheaded.
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Words nearby heads will roll
headright, headroom, heads, heads or tails, heads up, heads will roll, heads-up, heads-up display, headsail, headsaw, headscarf
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.