hatchet job

noun

: a forceful or malicious verbal attack

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web In other words, the book is not a hatchet job. John Tamny, Forbes, 27 May 2021 Trump supporters say the potential prosecution is a politically motivated hatchet job disconnected from the law. Joseph Morton, Dallas News, 22 Mar. 2023 Rumor has it that someone is writing a book about her life, which will be a hatchet job. Lincee Ray, EW.com, 9 Nov. 2022 Rick Reilly’s hatchet job in Sports Illustrated, painting Bo as a coward, was merely the most infamous and casually vicious of the genre. al, 27 Oct. 2022 That was quite the hatchet job Matt Brennan did on Ellen DeGeneres. Los Angeles Times, 27 May 2022 And yet, having said all that, the Grassley report has the appearance of a partisan hatchet job on a nomination by a Democratic president. Steve Lopezcolumnist, Los Angeles Times, 10 May 2022 His surrogates have painted James’s report as a partisan hatchet job. Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2022 That none of this is generally acknowledged is due to a posthumous series of smears by left-wing journalists and historians, which started with a hatchet job in The New Republic. Kyle Smith, National Review, 27 Mar. 2021 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hatchet job.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1940, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hatchet job was in 1940

Dictionary Entries Near hatchet job

Cite this Entry

“Hatchet job.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hatchet%20job. Accessed 30 May. 2023.

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