hired gun

American  

noun

Informal.

1. a person hired to kill someone, as a gunfighter or professional killer.

2. a person hired to bear arms and fight for another, as a bodyguard or mercenary.

3. a person, as a politician or lobbyist, skilled at attaining power for others.

4. a person hired to resolve difficult problems or disputes or to handle complex legal or business problems.

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hired gun Idioms  

1. A person, especially a professional killer, employed to kill someone, as in They thought the murder had been done by a hired gun . The noun gun has been slang for a professional criminal since the mid-1800s.

2. A person with special knowledge or expertise who is employed to resolve a complex problem. For example, The legal team was looking for a hired gun to handle the antitrust angle of the case . [ Slang ; 1960s]

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Etymology

Origin of hired gun

First recorded in 1965–70

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hired gun

Tacopina attacked Carroll's expert as a "hired gun" and attacked Carroll for not going to the police about the alleged attack.

From Salon ● May 9, 2023

But Niemeyer also calls Wildlife Services “the hired gun of the livestock industry.”

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 13, 2023

In that light, Brown is simply another hired gun, albeit one with a trail of burned bridges, hired to get the Buccaneers to the promised land.

From New York Times ● Nov. 9, 2020

A retired judge and a hired gun try to track down a small-time con man who’s posing as a priest in a Colombian town.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 29, 2019

Node:hired gun, Next:hirsute, Previous:hing, Up:= H = hired gun n.

From The Jargon File, Version 4.2.2, 20 Aug 2000 by Guy L. Steele

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