take a haircut
v. phr.— «The intent of such sessions is to identify what creditors will settle for. “But there was no goal seeking,…other than that everyone wanted 100 cents on the dollar. I think that nobody wanted to accept their fate, which was that everybody had to take a haircut.”» —“Living A Corporate Nightmare” by N.R. Kleinfield in Valley Stream, Long Island New York Times June 30, 1982. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Nancy Gabriel from Ithaca, New York, recalls her father’s no-nonsense responses to minor injuries when she was a child: After making sure she was really all right, he’d say, It’s far enough from your heart; it won’t kill you. Other times he might...
In 1916, a small-town newspaper in Pennsylvania printed a fanciful item about a local gathering with a guest list that included, among others, Miss Ella Vader, Mr. Ray Zor, and other punny names. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...