(as) mad as a meat axe

Primarily heard in Australia.

1. Enraged; extremely or inconsolably angry. My dad was mad as a meat axe after I crashed his car. You make me as mad as a meat axe with the way you carry on sometimes, you know that? Tiffany will be mad as a meat axe when she finds out that her so-called friends started that awful rumor about her.

2. Insane or eccentric. Don't leave me alone with Uncle Stu—he's mad as a meat axe! Who know what he'll do or say! I know some of my students think I'm as mad as a meat axe because of my weird methods. You're as mad as a meat axe if you believe this ridiculous scheme will work.

(old) battle-ax(e)

A strong-willed, argumentative woman, typically older in age, who is considered overbearing or domineering. My grandmother was always the matriarch of the entire family, an old battle-axe who answered to no one but God. I gained a reputation of being a bit of a battle ax in the office because of how outspoken and unbending I am about certain issues. Good luck getting that old battle-axe to sign off on any drastic changes you want to make to the department.

an ax(e) hanging over (someone or something)

1. The threat of being fired. There's definitely going to be an axe hanging over me if the boss finds out that printing error was my fault. Tommy already had an axe hanging over him, so I'm not surprised he got fired after showing up late again today. You're the one who messed up that account? Hoo boy, you've got an ax hanging over you now!

2. The threat of being destroyed or ended. I worry that there's an axe hanging over our initiative now that our funding's been slashed. If we still don't have positive results to show the board by Friday, I worry that there will be an axe hanging over our whole project. If the dictator has set his sights on his neighbor to the west, there's an ax hanging over them now.

an ax(e) to grind

1. A complaint or dispute that one feels compelled to discuss. I think the boss has a bit of an axe to grind with you over the way the account was handled. If Jenny said she forgives you, then it sounds like she doesn't have an ax to grind with you after all. Hey, I've got an axe to grind with you—are you the one who stole my lunch out of the communal fridge today?

2. A personal motivation or selfish reason for saying or doing something. It was boy's-club attitudes like yours that made my time at school a living hell, so yeah, I have a bit of an ax to grind. I don't have an axe to grind here—I just want to know the truth. Those two have always been enemies, so if Henry is leading the investigation into Jerry's business practices, it's because he's got an axe to grind.

be (as) mad as a meat axe

Primarily heard in Australia.

1. To be enraged; to be extremely or inconsolably angry. My dad was mad as a meat axe after I crashed his car. I would leave Tina alone for a while. She's as mad as a meat axe after what you did. Janet was as mad as a meat axe when she found out she had missed her connecting flight.

2. To be insane or eccentric. Don't leave me alone with Uncle Stu—he's mad as a meat axe! Who know what he'll do or say! I know some of my students think I'm as mad as a meat axe because of my weird methods. You're as mad as a meat axe if you believe this ridiculous scheme will work.

get the ax(e)

1. To be fired. I'm going to get the axe if the boss finds out that printing error was my fault. The new accountant got the ax after a miscalculation cost the company hundreds of thousands of dollars. Tommy had been warned numerous times, so I'm not surprised he got the axe after showing up late again today.

2. To be ended or stopped abruptly. I'm so disappointed that my favorite show got the axe this year. Your know our charity program will be the first to get the ax if the hospital loses funding. If there's not enough interest in the school newspaper, will it get the axe?

get the sack

To be fired from a job or task. The new secretary is so rude—it's time she got the sack. I tried so hard to do a good job in Mrs. Smith's garden, but I got the sack anyway. Tommy had been warned numerous times, so I'm not surprised he got the sack after showing up late again today.

give (one) the ax(e)

To dismiss one from one's job; to fire one. The boss is going to give me the axe if he finds out that printing error was my fault. Management promptly gave the new accountant the ax after his miscalculation cost the company hundreds of thousands of dollars. They'll give me the axe if they ever find out I came into work drunk.

have an ax(e) to grind

1. To have a complaint or dispute that one feels compelled to discuss. I think the boss has a bit of an axe to grind with you over the way the account was handled. If Jenny said she forgives you, then it sounds like she doesn't have an ax to grind with you after all. Hey, I have an axe to grind with you—are you the one who stole my lunch out of the communal fridge today?

2. To have a personal motivation or selfish reason for saying or doing something. It was boy's-club attitudes like yours that made my time at school a living hell, so yeah, I have a bit of an ax to grind. I don't have an ax to grind here—I just want to know the truth. Those two have always been enemies, so if Henry is leading the investigation into Jerry's business practices, it's because he has an axe to grind.

no ax(e) to grind

1. No complaint or dispute that one feels compelled to discuss. No, the boss has no axe to grind with us, thanks to Bob taking full responsibility for that printing mishap.

2. No personal motivation or selfish reason for saying or doing something. If Jenny said she forgives you, then it sounds like she's got no ax to grind with you. During the interview, the senator promised there was no axe to grind ahead of the Ethics Committee's investigation.

the ax(e)

Dismissal from employment. Usually used after "get" or "give." They gave me the ax for sleeping on the job. After they announced cutbacks, a lot of us were afraid of getting the axe.

wait for the ax(e) to fall

To remain in expectation of some swift or sudden negative outcome without doing anything to avoid or deter it. Typically said of being fired from one's job. If you think you're at risk of losing your job, then don't just sit there waiting for the ax to fall! You've got to get your résumé together and start seeing what other career opportunities are out there. Analysts have been predicting this crisis for years, yet those in government did nothing, choosing instead to wait for the axe to fall while praying that it never would.

have an ax(e) to grind

Fig. to have something to complain about. Tom, I need to talk to you. I have an ax to grind. Bill and Bob went into the other room to argue. They had an axe to grind.

*sack

and *ax

dismissal from one's employment. (*Typically: get ~; give someone ~.) Poor Tom got the sack today. He's always late. I was afraid that Sally was going to get the ax.

ax to grind

A selfish aim or motive, as in The article criticized the new software, but the author had an ax to grind, as its manufacturer had fired his son . This frequently used idiom comes from a story by Charles Miner, published in 1811, about a boy who was flattered into turning the grindstone for a man sharpening his ax. He worked hard until the school bell rang, whereupon the man, instead of thanking the boy, began to scold him for being late and told him to hurry to school. "Having an ax to grind" then came into figurative use for having a personal motive for some action. [Mid-1800s]

get the ax

Also, get the boot or bounce or can or heave-ho or hook or sack . Be discharged or fired, expelled, or rejected. For example, He got the ax at the end of the first week, or The manager was stunned when he got the boot himself, or We got the bounce in the first quarter, or The pitcher got the hook after one inning, or Bill finally gave his brother-in-law the sack. All but the last of these slangy expressions date from the 1870s and 1880s. They all have variations using give that mean "to fire or expel someone," as in Are they giving Ruth the ax?Get the ax alludes to the executioner's ax, and get the boot to literally booting or kicking someone out. Get the bounce alludes to being bounced out; get the can comes from the verb can, "to dismiss," perhaps alluding to being sealed in a container; get the heave-ho alludes to heave in the sense of lifting someone bodily, and get the hook is an allusion to a fishing hook. Get the sack, first recorded in 1825, probably came from French though it existed in Middle Dutch. The reference here is to a workman's sac ("bag") in which he carried his tools and which was given back to him when he was fired. Also see give someone the air.

get the sack

see under get the ax.

get the sack

and get the ax

tv. to be dismissed from one’s employment. Poor Tom got the sack today. He’s always late. If I miss another day, I’ll get the ax.

get the ax

verb

See get the sack

give someone the ax

1. tv. to dismiss someone from employment. I was afraid they would give me the ax.

2. tv. to divorce someone. She gave him the ax because he wouldn’t stop smoking like he promised.

sack

1. n. a bed. I was so tired I could hardly find my sack.

2. tv. to dismiss someone from employment; to fire someone. If I do that again, they’ll sack me.

3. and the sack n. a dismissal. (Always with the in this sense.) The boss gave them all the sack.

4. tv. in football, to tackle the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage. I tried to sack him, but he was too fast.

5. n. the completion of a tackle in football. Andy made the sack on the ten-yard line.

ax to grind, an

A selfish motive. Allegedly this term comes from a cautionary tale by Charles Miner, first published in 1810, about a boy persuaded to turn the grindstone for a man sharpening his ax. The work not only was difficult to do but also made him late for school. Instead of praising the youngster, the man then scolded him for truancy and told him to hurry to school. Other sources attribute it to a similar story recounted by Benjamin Franklin. Whichever its origin, the term was frequently used thereafter and apparently was a cliché by the mid-nineteenth century.

battle-ax

A bossy, combative woman. Obviously referring to the ancient weapon, the figurative usage dates from the late 1800s. For example, “That battle-ax of a secretary guards her boss so no one can get in to see him.” The cliché is now heard less often and may be dying out.

give someone the ax, to

To fire someone from his or her job. See also sack; pink slip.