new broom
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new broom
A new manager (of a company or organization) who has been hired specifically to make changes and improvements. After two years of falling profits, a new broom was hired to make budget cuts and improve the corporate culture.
a new broom
You can call someone a new broom when they have just started a new job in a senior position and are expected to make a lot of changes. We had a new, exceptionally young headmaster and he was a very active new broom. We need a new broom for the project to have credibility Note: You can use new-broom before a noun. If everyone is in the habit of arriving ten minutes late, a new-broom manager will have a struggle to change the habit. Note: You can also use the proverb a new broom sweeps clean. A new broom doesn't always sweep clean, it just brushes some of the worst dirt under the carpet for a while. Compare with make a clean sweep.