poleaxe
See also: pole-axe
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Originally pollax, from poll (“head”) + axe.
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -æks
Noun
poleaxe (plural poleaxes)
- An ax having both a blade and a hammer face; used to slaughter cattle.
- (historical) A long-handled battle axe, being a combination of ax, hammer and pike.
Hypernyms
Translations
ax having both a blade and a hammer face; used to slaughter cattle
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battle axe
See also
Verb
poleaxe (third-person singular simple present poleaxes, present participle poleaxing, simple past and past participle poleaxed)
- (transitive) To fell someone with, or as if with, a poleaxe.
- (transitive, figurative) To astonish; to shock or surprise utterly.
- 2020 July 26, Sam Jones, “'Everyone is panicking': UK quarantine decision shocks Britons in Spain”, in The Guardian[1]:
- Lisa Griffin, who runs Brew Rock and an Irish pub in nearby Benidorm, was as poleaxed by the announcement as her customers were.
- (transitive, figurative) To stymie, thwart, cripple, paralize.
- 2021 September 25, Zanny Minton Beddoes, “The Mess Merkel leaves behind”, in The Economist[2]:
- After a lacklustre campaign that has failed to grapple with Germany’s looming problems, the world should expect post-election coalition talks to last for months, poleaxing European politics while they drag on.
Translations
to beat as if with a poleaxe
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to astonish, to shock
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