Vocabulary : Idioms : Quizzes : Body 5 : heads will roll

heads will roll

Meaning: You can say "heads will roll" if people are going to lose their jobs after making a mistake.

For example:

How could the air force have bombed a school by mistake? Heads will roll, believe me!
Have you any idea how much money this mistake will cost the company? You can be sure that heads will roll.

Origin: Probably metaphorical, from the fact that the head of a person who has been executed by guillotine will roll around a little after falling into the basket below the blade.

Quick Quiz:

Our boss said that heads will roll, so I'm

worried about my head
worried about my job
worried about my roll

This entry is in the following categories:

Idioms/H
Idioms/Quizzes/Body 5
Idioms/Body