heave-ho

[heev-hoh]

noun

Informal.

1. an act of rejection, dismissal, or forcible ejection.

   The bartender gave the noisy drunk the old heave-ho.

heave-ho

1. a sailors' cry, as when hoisting anchor

noun

1. informal,  dismissal, as from employment

Word History and Origins

Origin of heave-ho¹

Noun use of phrase heave ho, Middle English havehou, hevelow

Example Sentences

The four MPs who have been given the heave-ho were called in one at a time to see the Chief Whip Sir Alan Campbell just after Prime Minister's Question Time.

Read more on BBC

Cage doesn’t get a toe in the tide before he’s given the heave-ho by a pretentious group of quasi-spiritual surfers called the Bay Boys.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Jay Johnston, 56, of Los Angeles joined other rioters in a “heave-ho” push against police officers guarding a tunnel entrance to the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Later, Cohen is seen entering a tunnel at the Capitol and joining other rioters in what prosecutors describe as a concerted “heave-ho” effort against the police line, according to court documents.

Read more on Seattle Times

When a landlord in Sag Harbor gave him the heave-ho, he moved into a storage unit, showering in an office building that kept its doors unlocked at night.

Read more on New York Times

Related Words

• break 
• freeze 
• halt 
• interruption 
• layoff 
• moratorium 
• period 
• postponement 
• stoppage 
• termination