Getting the SackThe literal origin of a common phrase for being fired.

From the show

History of Phrases

The expression for losing your job wasn't always a metaphor. Before the Industrial Revolution, tradespeople carried their tools in a sack. When their employment ended, their boss would literally give them their sack back as a final act of dismissal. This physical act of receiving one's sack became synonymous with being fired, a meaning that has persisted for centuries.