Whenever Charles Miner suspected an ulterior motive, he would say quietly ‘That man has an axe to grind!’
When someone has a hidden, ulterior motive for what he does, we say ‘he has an axe to grind’. The origin of this saying appears to be an essay in the Luzerne Federalist, a Pennsylvania newspaper, for September 7th, 1810. The author, Charles Miner, edited the paper with his brother Asher; later, Charles became an anti-slavery campaigner and a Congressman.
Posted February 1
Jigsaws: Join this group of ideas together to make a single sentence, in as many ways as you can. See if you can include any of the words in square brackets.
He flatters you. You will do anything he wants. [Butter. If. No.]
Picture: By Just L'Hernault (1832-1922), via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.. Source.
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