hand someone their cards

English

Alternative forms

• give someone his cards

Verb

hand someone their cards (third-person singular simple present hands someone their cards, present participle handing someone their cards, simple past and past participle handed someone their cards)

1. (idiomatic, slang, British, Ireland) To dismiss someone from employment; to fire or make redundant.
   • 1950, Miklos Laszlo, And the Snow Falls: A Play in Three Acts, page 29:

     To begin with, you were not sacked; it was you who gave notice. […] Upon which he handed me my cards and my wages.

   • 1985, “Ordinary Man”, in Ordinary Man‎^[1], performed by Christy Moore, produced by Dónal Lunny:

     Now they say that times are hard and they’ve handed me my cards. They say there’s not the work to go around. And when the whistle blows, the gates will finally close. Tonight they’re going to shut this factory down. Then they’ll tear it d-o-w-n

   • 2020 October 16, Salmi Khan Anmol, The Oldman’s English Lessons: An English Book, page 1667:

     I was handed my cards yesterday and so today I’m looking for a new job.