hired gun
4
8.9
- noun
- /ˈhaɪərd ɡʌn/
- Offensive
:
sicario
- Hawk don't trust a hired gun at his back.
Examples
-
They (the cops) are just hired guns who know little to nothing about the 1st and 2nd Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and could care less because they have the guns and corrupt politicians who will always be sure to have their backs, and they reciprocate in kind.
Blog text (18) -
Your hired gun wasted three of mine!
-
Yet, like a hired gun when someone is needed to clean up a mess, you call on me without reservation.
Blog text (3) -
I'm a hired gun, a soldier of fortune.
-
The bad guys would get a hired gun and a shootout would follow.
-
The attackers were hired guns.
-
I'm a hired gun.
-
Things will get shaky; elites and their hired guns will shut you down by any and all means to preserve themselves.
Blog text (13) -
The detective hired a hired gun to track down the criminal boss.
-
In the dangerous world of organized crime, he became known as a hired gun for various gangs.
Synonyms
∞
7.5
A person who shoots, often a skilled or professional shooter
946
3.4
A person who illegally kills another person on purpose
520
3.6
A person who fires a gun, sometimes paid to kill others
230
6.3
A person who secretly kills a leader for political or religious reasons
183
4.8
A person who uses a gun to hurt or kill others
57
7.6
A person who criminals pay to kill someone
49
8.1
A person who is paid to kill someone, often with a gun
16
8.7
A person in the Old West who uses guns very well, often a sheriff or outlaw
9
9.9
A person hired to kill someone in a sudden attack
5
9.7
A person who uses a gun to kill people for money or on orders
2
9.1
A person who is paid to kill someone with a gun
1
9.1
A woman who is paid to kill people, often using a gun
1
9.9
A person paid by criminals to kill people
1
9.9
A young man who helps criminals and often carries a gun
1
8.3
A person who secretly kills an important person, often for money
1
9.9
A person who kills someone, usually with a gun
A woman who is paid to kill someone, often using a gun
A person paid to kill someone
How Violent
Surface Forms
Morphology
The combination of 'hired' (employed) and 'gun' (a weapon or hired shooter) makes it partially predictable that the phrase refers to someone employed to carry out aggressive or violent tasks, so a learner could infer a literal hired shooter. However, the broader figurative extension to any hired specialist or ruthless professional is metaphorical and not fully derivable from the parts without prior exposure, so the transparency is limited.
Etymology
Hired gun comes from the image of a hired shooter with a gun who is sent to 'kill' for money, so it means 'a professional killer'.