🗓️ Idiom: Give Someone the Axe (verb)
💬 Meaning
- To dismiss someone from their job.
- To fire or remove someone from a position.
🧠 Example Sentences
- After months of poor performance, the company gave him the axe.
- The department was over budget, so three employees were given the axe.
- The manager was worried about being given the axe during the restructuring.
🏛️ Origin
This idiom comes from the image of cutting with an axe. In the past, it was used as a strong metaphor for ending someone’s employment, just like chopping something off.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
When the project failed, the director was __________ by the board.
Answer
given the axe
2. Multiple choice:
What does give someone the axe mean?
a) To cut wood with an axe
b) To promote someone at work
c) To dismiss someone from their job
Answer
c) To dismiss someone from their job
3. Change the sentence using “give someone the axe”:
The company decided to fire several employees last week.
Answer
The company gave several employees the axe last week.
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Rob is a CELTA qualified English teacher with 15 years of international experience. He has a BSc and PGDip from Loughborough and St Andrews universities in the UK. He has taught in Thailand and Saudi Arabia and now works with professionals worldwide.
