Lexic.us

Definition of Give the axe

1. Verb. Terminate the employment of; discharge from an office or position. "The company terminated 25% of its workers"

2. Verb. Terminate a relationship abruptly. "Mary gave John the axe after she saw him with another woman"

Lexicographical Neighbors of Give The Axe

give someone his head give someone the business give someone the chair give someone the creeps give someone the eye give someone the slipper give someone what for give something a go give something a miss give something a try

give something up as a bad job give stick give suck give thanks give the axe (current term) give the boot give the bounce give the devil his due give the elbow give the eye

give the finger give the gate give the glad eye give the lie to give the once over give the sack give the store away give the time of day give thought

Literary usage of Give the axe

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. A Manual of Forestry by William Schlich (1908)
"In order to give the axe a sharp edge, a wedge- shaped piece of steel is placed between the thin iron ends, and they are then welded together, ..."

2. Schlich's Manual of Forestry by William Schlich (1908)
"In order to give the axe a sharp edge, a wedge- shaped piece of steel is placed between the thin iron ends, and they are then welded together, ..."

3. Rural Affairs by John Jacob Thomas (1869)
"If the trees are quite bushy or spreading, it will be best to give the axe a long handle, so that the operator may do the work without fear of being ..."

4. The Illustrated Annual Register of Rural Affairs and Cultivator Almanac for by John Jacob Thomas (1867)
"If the trees are quite bushy or spreading, it will be best to give the axe a long handle, so that the operator may do the work without fear of being ..."

5. Among Cannibals: An Account of Four Years' Travels in Australia and of Camp by Carl Lumholtz (1889)
"Though I was stronger than they, still they brought a tree down more rapidly, because they understood how to give the axe more force. ..."

6. Troja: Results of the Latest Researches and Discoveries on the Site of Homer by Heinrich Schliemann, Archibald Henry Sayce (1884)
"It is well polished and expanding towards the edge ; on all its four sides there are two slightly concave bands, o'oi m. wide, which give the axe a very ..."

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