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AH020387 Posted 16 years ago
Vocabulary
'An axe to grind'
What does the phrase 'an axe to grind' mean?
Top answer
" Slightly different: I think he came here with an axe to grind. (perhaps looking to pick a fight about some particular issue)
- " Slightly different: I think he came here with an axe to grind.
- (perhaps looking to pick a fight about some particular issue)
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2 Answers
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This idiom means pretty much the same as "a hidden agenda."
If we are suspicious that George has a hidden agenda relative to a certain issue, we could ask him,
"Do you have an axe to grind?"
Or, "Do you have a dog in this fight?"
He could deny it: "I have no axe to grind here."
Slightly different: I think he came here with an axe to grind.
If we are suspicious that George has a hidden agenda relative to a certain issue, we could ask him,
"Do you have an axe to grind?"
Or, "Do you have a dog in this fight?"
He could deny it: "I have no axe to grind here."
Slightly different: I think he came here with an axe to grind.
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