long knife

long knife

1. A person hired to murder someone. It looks like the mob sent a long knife over last night to silence the last surviving witness.
2. The power or intent to attack someone in order to force them to stop or change their actions. Lobbyist groups for the industry have already been sharpening their long knives in order to quash what little support such regulation has within Congress. The mainstream media has always had a long knife out for people like me who reveal the truth to the world!
See also: knife, long
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

long knife

1. n. an assassin. (Underworld.) Some long knife showed up, but Marty took him out before he made his move.
2. n. a destroyer; a hatchet man. One of his long knives came over to pressure us into cooperating.
See also: knife, long
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • the last of the lot
  • last but not least
  • Let’s have it!
  • let's have it
  • at (long) last
  • at last
  • at long last
  • under the weather
  • creamed
  • at the last chance saloon
References in classic literature
Each boy have long knife. Gogoomy have long knife one hand, and Kwaque's head in other hand.
Momulla was for going immediately and running a long knife through the heart of the traitor.
"I must put the blood of the lamb on the head of the boy," Jesse muttered when the sticks had begun to blaze greedily, and taking a long knife from his pocket he turned and walked rapidly across the clearing toward David.
In desperation the smaller of the two Assassins pulled out a long knife from his pocket, and tried to pry Pinocchio's mouth open with it.
Every evening I tickle his neck with my sharp knife; he is so frightened at it!" and the little girl drew forth a long knife, from a crack in the wall, and let it glide over the Reindeer's neck.
With a roar of pain and rage, Numa reared up and fell backward upon the ape-man; but still the mighty man-thing clung to his hold and repeatedly the long knife plunged rapidly into his side.
The savages now learned the superiority of the Long Knife, as they call the Virginians, by experience; being out-generalled in almost every battle.
The Kanaka leaped backward to his bunk, to return with a second leap, flourishing a long knife.
He attempted to dodge the long arms that reached for him; but, failing, drew a long knife that hung at his belt.
As his antagonist came roaring toward him, Lord Greystoke tore his long knife from its sheath, and with an answering challenge as horrid and bloodcurdling as that of the beast he faced, rushed swiftly to meet the attack.
I built crude ladders; I wedged sticks in narrow fissures; I chopped toe-holds and finger-holds with my long knife; but at last I scaled them.
It was a matter of but an instant to reach the black's side and drag his long knife from its scabbard.
In half a minute he had reached the port scuppers and picked, out of a coil of rope, a long knife, or rather a short dirk, discoloured to the hilt with blood.
Either in the darkness and the rush of the charging lions the human foe had overlooked him or else they had considered him dead; but whatever the reason he still retained his weapons--his spear and his long knife, his bow and arrows, and his grass rope.
A long knife was in the doeskin belt that supported the doeskin skirt tightly about her lithe limbs.