Browse phrases beginning with: [A][B][C][D][E][F][G][H][I][J][K][L][M][N][O][P][Q][R][S][T][U,V][W][X,Y,Z] Get the sackMeaning To be dismissed from a job. Origin The probably derivation is the allusion to tradesmen, who owned their own tools, taking them with them in a bag or sack when they were dismissed from employment. The phrase has been known in France since the 17th century, as 'On luy a donné son sac'. The first recorded English version is in Charles Westmacott's The English Spy, 1825:
In his 1869 'Slang Dictionary', John Hotten records these alternatives - 'get the bag' (from the North of England) and 'get the empty' (from London). See also, the order of the boot. |