| 释义 |
ˈhatchet-man
[f. hatchet n. + man n.1]
†1. A pioneer or axeman serving in a military unit. U.S. Obs.
1755G. Washington Lett. Writ. 1889 I. 299 note, to detain both mulattoes and negroes..and employ them as Pioneers or Hatchetmen.
2. In the U.S., a hired Chinese assassin. Also transf.
1880G. B. Densmore Chinese in California xii. 94 Some of them are called hatchet-men. They carry a hatchet with the handle cut off. 1888Boston Jrnl. 3 May 1/2 The work of the hatchetmen among the enemies of the organization. 1913J. London Valley of Moon iii. xx, Chan Chi, had been a hatchet-man of note, in the old fighting days of the San Francisco tongs. 1957P. Frank Seven Days to Never iii. iii. 90 He was a hatchet man for the NKVD... He may have delivered Beria over to Malenkov and Krushchev.
3. (Now the usual sense.) A person, especially a journalist, employed to attack and destroy other people's reputations. So hatchet job, hatchet work. orig. U.S.
1944Time 23 Oct. 20 Exuberant hatchet jobs were..done on Foster Dulles because of his Wall Street connections. 1952Manch. Guardian Weekly 3 Apr. 15/4 Republican hatchet-men. 1959Encounter July 83/1 One has no difficulty in recognising the familiar tones of Dr. Leavis' hatchet-men when he is attacked. 1959Guardian 13 Oct. 7/4 One critic..was the meanest son of a bitch that ever lived. His criticism was a hatchet job on every book. 1960News Chron. 14 July 1/5 The Kennedy family went into action with a commando team of political hatchet-men. 1961M. McCarthy On Contrary (1962) i. 87 The literary Communists..doing the hatchet work on artists' reputations. 1962Listener 21 June 1089/1 It was difficult enough to sympathise with the hero once we'd seen him doing his hatchet work. |