hatchet man

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search
See also: hatchetman

English

[edit]

Alternative forms

[edit]

Pronunciation

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

hatchet man (plural hatchet men)

  1. A male professional killer or gunman.
    The crime lord dispatched his favorite hatchet man to make sure the witness would not testify.
  2. (US, historical) A male hatchet-wielding participant in a Chinese-American tong war.
    Synonym: boo how doy
  3. (colloquial, idiomatic) A male who carries out brutal and unpleasant duties on behalf of another, such as firing dead wood employees.
    After the layoffs, he gained a reputation as a hatchet man and ended up eating lunches alone.

Synonyms

[edit]

Translations

[edit]

See also

[edit]