escape the ax
idiom
informal
: to avoid being ended, eliminated, reduced, etc.
The school program escaped the ax this year and will continue as before.
Examples of escape the ax in a Sentence
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And while Republican leaders have been coyly suggesting that the big-ticket entitlement programs will escape the ax, Democrats are, justifiably, eyeing those pronouncements warily.
—
Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 2 Mar. 2023
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Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 2 Mar. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Escape the ax.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/escape%20the%20ax. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
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