Recent Examples on the WebSeveral other leading figures of the period ended their days on the executioner’s block, including the unhappy Comte de Chalais, whose headsman bungled the job and ended up frantically chopping away at his screaming victim with a small hatchet.—David A. Bell, Foreign Affairs, 1 Mar. 2012 Even if your reality is the headsman’s block!—Helen Shaw, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2021 Two other men, subjects of excellent Holbein drawings in the show, would keep appointments with the headsman.—Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2022 Once upon a time, the queen could have sent rebels to the Tower and the headsman’s block, even relatives—especially relatives.—Matt Seaton, The New York Review of Books, 9 Mar. 2021 The British prime minister has assembled a trio of headsmen to sever Britain from the mainland.—Vanityfair.com, VanityFair.com, 22 Mar. 2017
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'headsman.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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