Bury the Hatchet
Preserved but no longer current.
Let bygones be bygones. The "Great Spirit" commanded the North American Indians, when they smoked their calumet or peace-pipe, to bury their- hatchets, scalping-knives, and war-clubs, that all thought of hostility might be put out of sight.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Bury the Hatchet” mean?
Let bygones be bygones. The "Great Spirit" commanded the North American Indians, when they smoked their calumet or peace-pipe, to bury their- hatchets, scalping-knives, and war-clubs, that all thought of hostility might be put out of sight.
Is “Bury the Hatchet” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.