take an axe to

English

Verb

take an axe to (third-person singular simple present takes an axe to, present participle taking an axe to, simple past took an axe to, past participle taken an axe to)

  1. (idiomatic) To boldly demolish, delete, or discontinue (something).
    How much you wanna bet on whether they're hatching secret plans to take an axe to the entire Social Security system?
  3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: to boldly and forcefully demolish, cut up, cut down, etc.
    The firefighters were not messing around — they took an axe to the locked door.

See also

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