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Walking papers   /wˈɔkɪŋ pˈeɪpərz/   Listen
noun
Walking  n.  A. & n. from Walk, v.
Walking beam. See Beam, 10.
Walking crane, a kind of traveling crane. See under Crane.
Walking fern. (Bot.) See Walking leaf, below.
Walking fish (Zool.), any one of numerous species of Asiatic fishes of the genus Ophiocephalus, some of which, as Ophiocephalus marulius, become over four feet long. They have a special cavity over the gills lined with a membrane adapted to retain moisture to aid in respiration, and are thus able to travel considerable distances over the land at night, whence the name. They construct a curious nest for their young. Called also langya.
Walking gentleman (Theater), an actor who usually fills subordinate parts which require a gentlemanly appearance but few words. (Cant)
Walking lady (Theater), an actress who usually fills such parts as require only a ladylike appearance on the stage. (Cant)
Walking leaf.
(a)
(Bot.) A little American fern (Camptosorus rhizophyllus); so called because the fronds taper into slender prolongations which often root at the apex, thus producing new plants.
(b)
(Zool.) A leaf insect. See under Leaf.
Walking papers, or Walking ticket, an order to leave; dismissal, as from office; as, to get one's walking papers, i. e. to be dismissed or fired. (Colloq.)
Walking stick.
(a)
A stick or staff carried in the hand for hand for support or amusement when walking; a cane.
(b)
(Zool.) A stick insect; called also walking straw.
Walking wheel (Mach.), a prime mover consisting of a wheel driven by the weight of men or animals walking either in it or on it; a treadwheel.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Walking papers" Quotes from Famous Books



... case, the employer thinks no farther than to give a clerk his walking papers, and to show him the door. They never pause to remember that they were probably the primal cause of his downfall; neither will they make amends, by even giving him the good name he brought to them, for another situation. ...
— The Brother Clerks - A Tale of New-Orleans • Xariffa

... abrogation, annulment, nullification, recision; vacatur [Lat.]; canceling &c v.; cancel; revocation, revokement^; repeal, rescission, defeasance. dismissal, conge [Fr.], demission^; bounce [U.S.]; deposal, deposition; dethronement; disestablishment, disendowment^; deconsecration; sack [Slang], walking papers, pink slip, walking ticket; yellow cover [Slang]. abolition, abolishment; dissolution. counter order, countermand; repudiation, retraction, retractation^; recantation &c (tergiversation) 607; abolitionist. ...
— Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases: Body • Roget

... lose my job," went on our hero. "He continually calls me a blockhead, just to get me mad. I think he'd like to see me lose my temper and pitch into him, and then he could get me my walking papers." ...
— Randy of the River - The Adventures of a Young Deckhand • Horatio Alger Jr.

... "Got his walking papers, eh? Well, I guess if you don't like him he isn't much good. I never did care for the look ...
— The Mask - A Story of Love and Adventure • Arthur Hornblow

... capitals of Europe, but when I was a girl our gloomy palace at Salzburg saw much of the ghosts of decaying royalty. The Dukes of Modena and Parma, the King of Hanover, the Kurfurst of Hesse, the King of Naples and other monarchs and toy-monarchs that were handed their walking papers by sovereigns mightier than themselves, visited us off and on, filling the air with lamentations and cursing ...
— Secret Memoirs: The Story of Louise, Crown Princess • Henry W. Fischer



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