1
as in attack dog
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2
as in wordmonger
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Recent Examples of hatchet man
Meanwhile, there have been mass firings at the FBI, reportedly instigated by Trump hatchet man Kash Patel, who awaits Senate confirmation to head the FBI.
—
Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Boards, Orlando Sentinel, 21 Feb. 2025
Back home, more pink slips for federal employees go out and the scrutiny of Elon Musk's role as the hatchet man for those agencies intensifies.
—CBS News, 16 Feb. 2025
Musician and producer Grimes made a rare comment involving her ex-partner and father to her three kids, Elon Musk, after their 4-year-old son appeared alongside the tech mogul turned government hatchet man at the White House on Wednesday.
—Kevin Dolak, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Feb. 2025
Vladimir Zhirinovsky, another of President Vladimir Putin’s hatchet men, advised Americans to vote for Donald Trump or risk being dragged into a nuclear war.
—Mitchell A. Orenstein, Foreign Affairs, 20 Oct. 2016
In the twenty-tens, the brothers took up solo careers; Malice converted to Christianity (becoming No Malice), as Pusha T became a hatchet man for Kanye West.
—The New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2023
The Mondale inner circle wanted Ferraro to play the traditional running-mate role of hatchet man.
—Maureen Dowd New York Times, Star Tribune, 10 Aug. 2020
In a role reversal from their eight years together in the White House, Barack Obama has become Joe Biden’s wingman and, in his understated way, his hatchet man.
—W. James Antle Iii, Washington Examiner, 1 Aug. 2020
To secure the 1800 presidential election, Thomas Jefferson infamously hired a hatchet man named James Callender to spread false rumors about John Adams wanting a war with France.
—A. G. Hamilton, National Review, 25 Oct. 2019
Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Boards, Orlando Sentinel, 21 Feb. 2025
Back home, more pink slips for federal employees go out and the scrutiny of Elon Musk's role as the hatchet man for those agencies intensifies.
—CBS News, 16 Feb. 2025
Musician and producer Grimes made a rare comment involving her ex-partner and father to her three kids, Elon Musk, after their 4-year-old son appeared alongside the tech mogul turned government hatchet man at the White House on Wednesday.
—Kevin Dolak, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Feb. 2025
Vladimir Zhirinovsky, another of President Vladimir Putin’s hatchet men, advised Americans to vote for Donald Trump or risk being dragged into a nuclear war.
—Mitchell A. Orenstein, Foreign Affairs, 20 Oct. 2016
In the twenty-tens, the brothers took up solo careers; Malice converted to Christianity (becoming No Malice), as Pusha T became a hatchet man for Kanye West.
—The New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2023
The Mondale inner circle wanted Ferraro to play the traditional running-mate role of hatchet man.
—Maureen Dowd New York Times, Star Tribune, 10 Aug. 2020
In a role reversal from their eight years together in the White House, Barack Obama has become Joe Biden’s wingman and, in his understated way, his hatchet man.
—W. James Antle Iii, Washington Examiner, 1 Aug. 2020
To secure the 1800 presidential election, Thomas Jefferson infamously hired a hatchet man named James Callender to spread false rumors about John Adams wanting a war with France.
—A. G. Hamilton, National Review, 25 Oct. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hatchet man
Noun
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The governor took pains to soften his liberal attack dog image, praising the president as a cooperative partner during crisis.—
Lia Russell,
Sacramento Bee,
8 Feb. 2025
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Trump has maligned Pritzker in the press over his appearance while Pritzker was Vice President Kamala Harris' attack dog on the campaign trail, slamming Trump routinely.—
Justin Kaufmann,
Axios,
7 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Those defending pit bulls might point to the notion that each and every dog is different and that much of the issues around the breed are down to nurture, or a lack of, rather than nature.—
Mark Joseph,
Newsweek,
22 Feb. 2025
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The foundation has initiatives in Canada to support people with multiple sclerosis and similar initiatives in the U.S. along with a program to support pit bulls.—
Scott Powers,
The Athletic,
14 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The company plans to recreate the mammoth, dodo, and Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, by editing the genome of each species’ closest living relative to make a hybrid animal that would be visually indistinguishable from its extinct forerunner.—
Katie Hunt,
CNN,
4 Mar. 2025
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To the west of the Wallace Line—in Borneo, Sumatra and Java—you’d encounter creatures with deep Asian roots: tigers, rhinoceroses, elephants and primates.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes,
1 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Image Wojnarowski transcended the relative anonymity of most sports scribblers by virtue of his hustle and connections often landing him N.B.A. stories before anyone else.—
Victor Mather,
New York Times,
25 Feb. 2025
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Try your hand at drawing a model, whether your a pro or a scribbler.—
Amanda Rosa,
Miami Herald,
1 July 2024
Noun
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Fifteen years ago, social media felt like the ultimate marketing hack.—
Adam Ayers,
Rolling Stone,
11 Mar. 2025
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Braungart-Rieker said the laundry hack video is a great example of how it can be done.—
Adrianna Rodriguez,
USA TODAY,
10 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Historians and biographers work around archival gaps to delicately stitch together suppressed histories, but fiction writers can take more creative liberties to reconcile the past.—
Lauren LeBlanc,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Mar. 2025
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In the decades since, critics and biographers have pushed back on this dim view of Frost.—
Maggie Doherty,
The New Yorker,
24 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Giannoulias was a coauthor of the Illinois Food Safety Act, which passed the Illinois Senate and is currently before the House of Representatives. Tired of waiting for the FDA, other states have also acted.—
Sandee LaMotte,
CNN,
11 Mar. 2025
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Ryan Clark, a coauthor and finance Ph.D. candidate at the University of Kansas, calls out that even within individual companies, short interest often barely changes when executives start railing against short sellers.—
Brandon Kochkodin,
Forbes,
5 Mar. 2025
Noun
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But only hagiographers believe that one man created today’s France.—
Stephen Kotkin,
Foreign Affairs,
18 Apr. 2024
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William’s hagiographer, the monk Thomas of Monmouth, laid out this unsubstantiated account in excruciating detail, leading to the canonization of the dead boy; like mushrooms after rain, accounts of miracles arose around his tomb.—
Talia Lavin,
The New Republic,
29 Sep. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Hatchet man.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hatchet%20man. Accessed 18 Mar. 2025.
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