an axe to grind
have an ax to grind. 1. to have a selfish reason for saying or doing something The best reporting is done by people who don't have an ax to grind. After you get the same complaints from a number of people, you begin to think it may not be just people who have personal axes to grind. Calie, from Zenescope's Escape from Wonderland, literally and figuratively has an axe to grind. With her daughter kidnapped, Calie takes up a woodcutting axe that mutates into a BFA in her quest to rescue her daughter and get revenge against the Eldritch Abomination that cursed her family line. Gimli, as shown in the trope picture, uses a few to effect in The Lord of the Rings. Several dwarves use it in The Hobbit, including Gimli's father, Glóin, who uses one of the same axes. Many kung fu films feature an Axe Gang in which all the members wield axes. In An Axe to Grind, there are a couple of different story lines going on, all of which bring the characters together and, for the reader, is a bit like living within this small town and seeing and hearing what is going on with friends. also have an axe to grind. 1  1. to have a selfish reason for saying or doing something The best reporting is done by people who don't have an ax to grind. After you get the same complaints from a number of people, you begin to think it may not be just people who have personal axes to grind. An Axe to Grind, the sixth book in the series, not only lived up to but exceeded my expectations. When a Rocky Bluff resident, Kenneth Buchelo, is murdered, detectives Doug Milligan and Frank Marshall discover that Buchelo had been stalking a pretty, young Hispanic woman, Rachel Rivera. have an ax to grind. also have an axe to grind. 1. to have a selfish reason for saying or doing something The best reporting is done by people who don't have an ax to grind. After you get the same complaints from a number of people, you begin to think it may not be just people who have personal axes to grind. Axe to Grind. To have a grievance with someone, especially where one feels the need to seek damaging retribution. The phrase probably originates from the act of sharpening an axe with a grinding wheel, with the intent (in this definition) to get revenge on someone by maiming or killing them. ;) Five years ago that guy stole my idea for an invention and made tons of money off it! I've had an axe to grind with him ever since. Films — Live-Action. 1  Gimli, as shown in the trope picture, uses a few to effect in The Lord of the Rings. 2  Several dwarves use it in The Hobbit, including Gimli's father, Glóin, who uses one of the same axes. 3  Many kung fu films feature an Axe Gang in which all the members wield axes. The newest addition in the Rocky Bluff P.D. series, An Axe to Grind, is a story guaranteed to draw the reader in from the beginning and keep them hooked until the very end. Though sixth in the series, An Axe to Grind can easily be read as a stand alone.
To have a grievance with someone, especially where one feels the need to seek damaging retribution.