hatchet man

See also: hatchetman

English

Alternative forms

• hatchetman, hatchet-man

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

hatchet man (plural hatchet men)

1. A male professional killer or gunman.

   The crime lord dispatched his favorite hatchet man to make sure the witness would not testify.

2. (US, historical) A male hatchet-wielding participant in a Chinese-American tong war.

   Synonym: boo how doy

3. (colloquial, idiomatic) A male who carries out brutal and unpleasant duties on behalf of another, such as firing dead wood employees.

   After the layoffs, he gained a reputation as a hatchet man and ended up eating lunches alone.

Synonyms

• (professional killer): assassin, hitman

Translations

professional killer

• French: tueur à gages (fr) m
• Italian: sicario (it)
• Russian: ки́ллер (ru) (kíller)
• Spanish: sicario (es)

hatchet-wielding participant in a tong war

• Chinese:

  Taishanese: 斧頭仔 / 斧头仔 (bu² heu³ doi²)

man who carries unpleasant duties on behalf of another

• French: porte-flingue (fr) m

See also

• chainsaw consultant