the (old) heave-ho

A dismissal or rejection of a person, especially from a place of employment. I can't believe the boss gave me the old heave-ho after five years on the job! A: "Did you hear that Liz broke up with Dan?" B: "Wow, I knew there's be fallout over his infidelity, but I never expected her to give him the heave-ho!"

the act of throwing someone out; the act of firing someone. (From nautical use, where sailors used heave-ho to coordinate hard physical labor. One sailor called "Heave-ho," and all the sailors would pull at the same time on the ho. *Typically: get ~; give someone ~.) I wanted to complain to the management, but they called a security guard and I got the old heave-ho. That's right. They threw me out! They fired a number of people today, but I didn't get the heave-ho.