English

Proper noun

Attila the Hun

1. Attila, kingly ruler of the tribe of the Huns and vast Eurasian Hunnic Empire and feared enemy of the Roman Empire, from 434 until his death in 453.

Translations

Noun

Attila the Hun

1. Generally, a tyrant, or otherwise, a person characterized by ruthless aggressiveness.
   • Ken Wells, Travels with Barley: A Journey Through Beer Culture in America (2004) p. 172:

     He also told me that while Rehr, in person, could be “a gracious and friendly guy,” he was clearly “the Attila the Hun of the alcoholic beverage industry.

   • Gina F. Wilkins, The Family Plan (2003) p. 9:

     He didn't know then that he had hired the Attila the Hun of ambitious young lawyers.

   • Jake Tapper, Down and Dirty: The Plot to Steal the Presidency (2001) p. 315:

     They don't have a Jim Baker, they don't have a warrior, an Attila the Hun.

   • Ole Ingstrup, Paul Stanley Crookall, The Three Pillars of Public Management: Secrets of Sustained Success (1998) p. 9:

     The organizations don't tolerate an Attila the Hun in one office and a Mother Teresa next door.

   • Edward Klein, Just Jackie: Her Private Years (1998) p. 270:

     What better way for them to get started, Grastos said, than for Onassis to call Roy M. Cohn, the Attila the Hun of divorce attorneys.

   • Paul L. Brown, Managing Behavior on the Job (1982) p. 84:

     The workers were being supervised by an Attila the Hun.