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"get the axe"

Posted by ESC on November 15, 2000

In Reply to: "Get the axe" posted by Bob on November 15, 2000

: : : I know "get the axe" means to be fired or eliminated from employment, but who knows the derivation of this phrase?

: : I couldn't find this phrase in my reference books. But it seems obvious to me that it refers to a tree being cut down. A tree is "felled." An employee is fired.

: Unless it's the executioner's axe we're speaking of.... just as final, but more vivid.

Yes, you're right. I was thinking nonviolent -- a woodsman felling a tree. But executioner does make more sense.

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