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'Bury the hatchet' - meaning and origin.

Agree to stop arguing or feuding - although pre-dated by a British version now much less popular, 'bury the hatchet' is from the native American Indian custom, as required by their spirit gods, of burying all weapons out of sight while smoking the peace pipe. 'Bury the hatchet' came into use first in the US in the late 1700's and was soon adopted in Britain, where according to Partridge it was pre-dated (as early as the 1300's) by the earlier expression 'hang up the hatchet'.

 'Bury the hatchet' perhaps not surprisingly became much more popular than the less dramatic British version. Hatchet is a very old word, meaning axe, and probably derived from Old German happa for scythe or sickle. The hatchet as an image would have been a natural representation of a commoner's weapon in the middle ages, and it's fascinating that the US and British expressions seem to have arisen quite independently of each other in two entirely different cultures.


The Hatchet
Bury Football Club Fanzine.
Written by Chris and available at the bar.