hatchet man
2
8.5
- noun
- /ˈhæʧɪt mæn/
- Literature
:
hombre de mano dura
- Tell those cowardly hatchet men that by the outcome of these contests tonight, this American has vindicated his honour and his manhood.
- Nixon's hatchet man
Examples
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Many saw him as the hatchet man of the company, tasked with undermining the former employees' reputations.
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Hackett's nothing but a hatchet man for CCA.
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At my undergrad institution, the governing board brought in a president who was essentially a drop-in hatchet man.
Blog text (3) -
The CEO sent his hatchet man to deliver the news of the layoffs to the staff.
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During the meeting, she was identified as the hatchet man responsible for carrying out the controversial decisions.
Synonyms
14
7.9
A person who helps a powerful person break the law, often secretly
4
7.1
A person hired to do a difficult or unpleasant job other people avoid
1
9.9
A loyal political worker who does unpleasant or dishonest tasks for a political leader
A woman hired to do unpleasant, tough jobs like firing people for someone in power
How Ruthless
- NSFW
27
7.2
- Literature
2
8.5
24
6.1
- Specialized
3
4.1
833
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
hatchet + man
The literal parts — 'hatchet' (a small axe) + 'man' (person) — suggest an agent associated with a weapon, so a B1 learner could infer a violent or weapon-wielding person. However, the conventionalized sense 'a person hired to kill or do dirty work' is a specific idiomatic extension (enforcer/hitman) that is not fully predictable from the constituents, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Hatchet man may come from the image of someone holding a hatchet and cutting away unwanted parts. So, the phrase now means 'a person hired to do unpleasant jobs like firing staff or ruining reputations'.