walking papers

noun Informal.
a notification of dismissal.

Origin:
1815–25, Americanism

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To walking papers
Collins
World English Dictionary
walking papers
 
pl n
slang chiefly (US), (Canadian) notice of dismissal

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
00:10
Walking papers is always a great word to know.
So is gobo. Does it mean:
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

walking papers definition


Notice of dismissal. To “get one's walking papers” is to be fired.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary

walking papers definition


  1. n.
    a notice of being fired, released, divorced, etc. : I hope I don't get my walking papers today. I need this job.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

walking papers

A dismissal, as in They're downsizing, and I got my walking papers last week. This slangy expression, first recorded in 1835, refers to a written notice of dismissal.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Big-city superintendents came in with big plans-only to be given their walking papers a year or two later.
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT