hatchet (redirected from burying the hatchet)

bury the hatchet

Fig. to make peace. Let's stop arguing and bury the hatchet. Tom and I buried the hatchet and we are good friends now.

See also: bury

hatchet man

a man who does the cruel or difficult things for someone else; someone who does someone else's dirty work. He served as the president's hatchet man and ended up doing all the dirty work.

See also: man

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a hatchet job  (informal)

strong and unfair criticism of someone or something, especially on television or in a newspaper She did a real hatchet job on his latest novel in one of the Sunday papers.

See also: job

a hatchet man  (informal)

someone who is employed by an organization to make changes that people do not like The hatchet man is called in whenever a company needs to reduce its staff.

See bury the hatchet

See also: man

bury the hatchet

to forget about arguments and disagreements with someone and to become friends with them again It had been over a year since the incident and I thought it was time we buried the hatchet.

See also: bury

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bury the hatchet

to agree that you will forget about arguments and disagreements with someone The two teammates hope to bury the hatchet long enough to win the championship.

Etymology: based on the custom of literally burying a hatchet (cutting tool with a small handle) as a symbol of peace between Native American tribes (groups of people)

See also: bury