hatchet man n 1: a professional killer [syn: hatchet man, iceman] 2: one whose job it is to execute unpleasant tasks for a superior [syn: hatchet man, enforcer]

hatchet man ˈhætʃɪtmən n., colloquial 1. A politician or newspaper columnist whose job is to write and say unfavorable things about the opposition. Bill Lerner is the hatchet man for the Mayor's Party; he smears all the other candidates regularly. 2. An executive officer in a firm whose job it is to fire superfluous personnel, cut back on the budget, etc., in short, to do the necessary but unpleasant things. The firm hired Cranhart to be hatchet man; his title is that of Executive Vice President.

hatchet man noun Date: 1880 1. one hired for murder, coercion, or attack 2. a. a writer specializing in invective b. a person hired to perform underhanded or unscrupulous tasks (as ruin reputations)

hatchet man (hatchet men) You can refer to someone who makes changes in an organization by getting rid of lots of people as a hatchet man, especially if you think they do so in an unnecessarily harsh way. (INFORMAL) N-COUNT [disapproval]

130 Moby Thesaurus words for "hatchet man": Cain, Thersites, apache, assassin, assassinator, backbiter, battler, belittler, belligerent, belted knight, bickerer, blade, bloodletter, bloodshedder, bravo, brawler, bruiser, bully, bullyboy, burker, butcher, button man, calumniator, cannibal, caustic critic, combatant, competitor, contender, contestant, cutthroat, cynic, debunker, decrier, defamer, deflater, depreciator, derogator, desperado, detractor, disparager, disputant, duelist, enforcer, eradicator, executioner, exterminator, fencer, feuder, fighter, fighting cock, foilsman, gamecock, garroter, gladiator, goon, gorilla, gun, gunman, gunsel, gunslinger, hanger-on, head-hunter, heeler, hellion, henchman, hit man, holy terror, homicidal maniac, homicide, hood, hoodlum, hooligan, jouster, killer, knight, knocker, libeler, man-eater, man-killer, manslayer, massacrer, matador, militant, muckraker, mudslinger, mug, mugger, murderer, muscle man, pesticide, plug-ugly, poison, poisoner, quarreler, railer, rioter, rival, rodman, rough, roughneck, rowdy, ruffian, sabreur, scrapper, scuffler, slanderer, slaughterer, slayer, social critic, squabbler, strangler, strong arm, strong-arm man, strong-armer, struggler, swashbuckler, sword, swordplayer, swordsman, terror, thug, tilter, torpedo, tough, traducer, trigger man, tussler, ugly customer, ward heeler, wrangler

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