take no prisoners

See also: take-no-prisoners

English

Etymology

Implying that one kills all one's enemies instead of capturing them.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Verb

take no prisoners (third-person singular simple present takes no prisoners, present participle taking no prisoners, simple past took no prisoners, past participle taken no prisoners)

1. (idiomatic) To be uncompromising.
   • 2015 January 21, “Ex Machina: Quest to create an AI takes no prisoners”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎^[1], New Scientist:

     It’s a rare thing to see a movie about science that takes no prisoners intellectually.

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see take,‎ prisoner.

Translations

to be uncompromising

• French: ne pas faire de prisonniers, ne pas faire de cadeaux (fr)
• German: keine Gefangenen machen
• Hungarian: nem ismer irgalmat

See also

• no quarter