give someone their cards
(Redirected from give someone his cards)
English
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editgive someone their cards (third-person singular simple present gives someone their cards, present participle giving someone their cards, simple past gave someone their cards, past participle given someone their cards)
- (idiomatic, slang, British, Ireland) To dismiss someone from employment; to fire or make redundant.
- 1969 October 19, J Graham Chapman, John Clees, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, 16:38 from the start, in Monty Python’s Flying Circus (How to Recognise Different Types of Tree from Quite a Long Way Away) (1), episode 3 (TV series), spoken by Head Waiter (Michael Palin):
- HEAD WAITER: It’s filthy! Gaston, find out who washed this up and give them their cards immediately!
- 1984, Anita Brookner, Hotel du Lac, Penguin, published 2016, page 80:
- Her noble husband, in urgent need of an heir, has dispatched her here with instructions to get herself into working order; should this not come to pass, Monica will be given her cards and told to vacate the premises so that Sir John can make alternative arrangements.
- 2016, R. Pollard, Invisible Pleasures, page 90:
- I looked up at him as he turned his back and a few minutes later, the foreman brought me up and reluctantly gave me my cards as the boss, the horrid face of capital, had sacked me for not wearing protective boots.