walking papers
a notification of dismissal.
Origin of walking papers
1Words Nearby walking papers
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use walking papers in a sentence
Nance tells me I must get busy or else take my walking papers.
Molly Brown's Freshman Days | Nell SpeedIf only Mr. Lincoln could then give the walking papers to General Halleck!
Diary from November 12, 1862, to October 18, 1863 | Adam GurowskiBut you'll be about certain to get your walking papers if you wait for the first information to come from other sources.
Dave Darrin's Second Year at Annapolis | H. Irving Hancock"You'll be lucky if that mistake doesn't give you your walking papers," said the foreman.
Flip's "Islands of Providence" | Annie Fellows JohnstonSee here, young man, I'll give you your walking papers if I hear any more talk like that!
Halsey & Co. | H. K. Shackleford
British Dictionary definitions for walking papers
slang, mainly US and Canadian notice of dismissal
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
Cultural definitions for walking papers
Notice of dismissal. To “get one's walking papers” is to be fired.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with walking papers
A dismissal, as in They're downsizing, and I got my walking papers last week. This slangy expression, first recorded in 1835, refers to a written notice of dismissal.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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