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• meat ax
  meat ax

  noun

  cleaver.
• meat-ax
  meat-ax

  adjective

  drastic or severe.

meat ax

¹ American  

noun

1. cleaver.

2. Informal. a drastic or ruthless procedure or approach, especially for reducing or trimming something, as expenditures.

   The committee used a meat ax on the recreation budget.

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meat-ax ² American  

[meet-aks] / ˈmitˌæks /

adjective

Informal.

1. drastic or severe.

   meat-ax defense cuts.

2. favoring or advocating drastic reductions.

   a meat-ax approach to the budget.

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Etymology

Origin of meat ax

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

The declaration hit Capitol Hill as yet another bolt from the gods — a surprise attack from a mercurial lawmaker who, to some colleagues, has randomly swung a meat ax at their policy agenda.

From Washington Post • Oct. 26, 2021

Instead, Disney’s misconceived live-action remake of the studio’s 1992 animated classic offers the audience overstuffed musical-production numbers that look like they’ve been edited with a meat ax.

From Seattle Times • May 22, 2019

That separate agreement drives a stake into White House promises last year to take a meat ax to domestic agencies and eventually bring the budget back into the black.

From Washington Times • Feb. 11, 2018

On his final flight overseas, aides gave him a plastic meat ax to commemorate his time in office.

From Reuters • Feb. 14, 2013

It's the kitchen chopper, or meat ax, or something like that, that somebody has thrown away in the wood.

From The Man Who Knew Too Much by Chesterton, G. K. (Gilbert Keith)