Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
dropping the hammer
English answer:
ending a relationship
English term
dropping the hammer
Jay: Now, wait a second. You’re not here to fire me, are you?
Mitchell: What? No. Pfft! That’s a strong word.
Jay: I’ve done enough axing in my time to recognize the look. Just do it.
Mitchell: See, now, I was I was hoping this would be more of a conversation.
Jay: Never been much for confrontation. You weren’t engaged to a woman six months in law school because you were good at dropping the hammer. Didn’t you guys get a cat together?
Mitchell: Okay, you know? Y... y... yes! You’re fired! Okay? You’re an incompetent man-diva. The
only thing you’ve ever built is a closet i.e. a box of air. So get out, and don’t let the door
hit you on your ample behind.
Jay: [after 3 seconds, smacks lips] Nicely done. Maybe an unnecessary shot at closets,
particularly from someone who was in one for 22 years but... (S09E05)
Context (copied): Jay, Mitchell’s father, volunteered to renovate Mitchell’s kitchen as part of passing time at
retirement. He hasn’t made rapid progress at all and Mitchell is somewhat impatient and wants to
hasten his dad.
| 3 | ending a relationship |
Althea Draper
|
| 4 +1 | making a commitment |
Yvonne Gallagher
|
| 4 | holding nothing back |
Sheri P
|
PRO (2): Yvonne Gallagher, philgoddard
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Responses
United Kingdom
Freelance Medical Translator, MA (Hons)
Native in: English (Variants: Scottish, British) 
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English, English
ending a relationship
"Drop the Hammer (You Know, in a Nice Way)
In other words, get to the point. Here’s what it looks like.
“Thanks for taking the time to meet with me today. I want to start by telling you how much I’ve enjoyed working with you and that I’ve really appreciated my time here. But, after three great years, I feel ready to move on. It was a hard decision, but I’ve chosen to accept a new position. So, I’d like to formally give you my two weeks’ notice.”"
https://www.mavenrec.com/post/how-to-have-the-talk-with-your...
Here, an example from The Bachelor TV show where one contestant is to be eliminated as a possible love match
"Ben sits down with mom, Emily and Haley to drop the hammer and end the twin love triangle Monday night."
https://www.tampabay.com/the-bachelor-season-20-episode-4-br...
On splitting up with a boyfriend or girlfriend
"When you’re fighting wrong – when you’re not listening to the underlying meaning of what the two of you are saying, when you’re both using past mistakes that you’ve supposedly forgiven as weapons – the issue frequently isn’t the subject of the fight. The issue is the two of you. And it’s a sign that it’s time to drop the hammer on your relationship and get out."
https://www.7cups.com/qa-breakups-21/how-do-i-know-i-should-...
Advice to a woman who's husband prefers very much younger women and girls
"Age gap is inappropriate; Drop the hammer and ditch the pedophile"
https://www.mininggazette.com/news/features/2021/10/age-gap-...
It's like Yvonne says, it's related to an auction but it's the sign that the auction is ended - finished. In this case, Mitchell had a relationship with a woman and then was engaged to her for 6 months before he could bring himself to end it - drop the hammer. His father says Mitchell has "never been much for confrontation" and Mitchell is also finding it difficult to tell his father that he is 'fired' from working on the kitchen. He finds it difficult to end relationships - to drop the hammer.
Ireland
right word, right place. everytime
Native in: English (Variants: Irish, UK, US, Canadian) 
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English, English, and 1 more.
making a commitment
commit to or confirm a decision like an auctioneer does when they drop the hammer or gavel to confirm a sale
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Note added at 15 mins (2022-03-20 13:59:01 GMT)
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You weren’t engaged to a woman six months in law school because you were good at dropping the hammer. Didn’t you guys get a cat together?
Michell got engaged to a woman, perhaps to cover the fact he was gay...
and they even got a cat together so it looked to be confirmed that they were a real couple (though it seems it was just for show)
so drop the hammer
commit to a woman, even if just for show
He made a decision to play a role by "appearing" to commit to a woman
The father isn't gay as a closet is "a box of air" in his case.
Though he says the son has lived in the closet for 22 years and now it's time to come out (rather than pretend he's in a hetero relationship)
You were NOT engaged to a woman six months in law school because you were good at dropping the hammer.
good at dropping the hammer= good at making a commitment.
I think the structure of the sentence is confusing you?
Rephrased: you are NOT good at making a commitment so that is why you got engaged to a woman for 6 months
| agree |
James A. Walsh
: Yeah, i think "commitment" is the key word here.
56 mins
|
|
many thanks James
|
holding nothing back
Holding nothing back. Usually refers to ending something.
The term comes from the hammer action on a gun. The hammer dropping on many pistols is what causes them to fire. If you "drop the hammer" on somebody, you go all out.
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=drop the ham...
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Note added at 44 mins (2022-03-20 14:27:55 GMT)
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Mitchell was afraid to drop the hammer on the woman—to stand in his truth, tell her he was gay, and end the relationship.
Discussion
The real challenge is when one needs to translate words such as 'closet' and their references, into another language that doesn't have the same meanings at all. People would be like, Huh? What's it to come out of the closet?
THEN, I read the transcript and found that phrases 3 and 4 are not related to the first two! Phil Goddard's comment using all capital letters and reversing the order of the clauses is an example of "written" English instead of "script" English (I just made that up) that requires listening, at least, and seeing when possible.
Think about the difference between reading a book and listening to it.
All that being said, I think these phrases are excellent to think about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40Yg6xpLRnM&ab_channel=ABC
Thank you all for your help!
It makes more sense if you turn it round and say: "You WERE engaged to a woman six months in law school because you WEREN'T good at dropping the hammer."
https://tvshowtranscripts.ourboard.org/viewtopic.php?f=422&t...