# heads will roll

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/heads-will-roll
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

Some people will be fired for incompetence.

## Examples

- The project failed, so heads will roll tomorrow.
- Heads will roll if the kitchen staff fails the health inspection again.
- Heads will roll because the team missed the most important deadline of the year.
- After the company lost millions due to the accounting error, the manager warned that heads will roll.
- When the secret documents were leaked to the press, the president promised that heads will roll in the security department.
- The store lost a lot of money during the holiday sale, and now everyone fears that heads will roll.
- The director made it clear that heads will roll if the department does not improve its performance by the end of the quarter.

## Origin

The phrase originates from the imagery of a head rolling upon the ground following a decapitation. It refers specifically to the practice of execution as a legal punishment for a criminal act. The idiom preserves the physical aftermath of the guillotine or the axe, though the consequence is now typically restricted to the loss of one's employment rather than one's anatomy.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.