mutually consent

verb

To force out of a job; to sack with plausible deniability.

Meanings

verbmutually consent (third-person singular simple present mutually consents, present participle mutually consenting, simple past and past participle mutually consented)

present singular third person mutually consents · participle present mutually consenting · participle past mutually consented · past mutually consented

  1. euphemistichumoroustransitiveball gamesTo force out of a job; to sack with plausible deniability.

    Jose Mourinho has finally admitted that he was sacked as Chelsea manager in 2015, not ‘mutually consented’.

    2016 October 22, Matt Stead, “Mourinho admits he was fired, not ‘mutually consented’”, in Football365
    2 more examples

    Fresh off a 6-1 gubbing by the Dutch, which itself came hot on the heels of stinking out Euro Not 2020, Turkey have responded by mutually consenting boss Senol Günes.

    2021 September 19, Gregg Bakowski, “Some other headline-grabbing news out of Greater Manchester”, in The Guardian

    Unveiled, ages faster than the baddie at the end of 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade', has a post-match press conference meltdown, gets mutually consented, goes on 'Stick to the Overlap', lands a gig in a more stable environment, repeat, repeat, repeat.

    2026 February 24, David Squires, “A dose of reality for Igor Tudor after Arsenal’s visit to Dr Tottenham”, in The Guardian
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see mutually, consent.

Origin

From the standard statement that a player or manager has left the club "by mutual consent" after a disappointing result.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

mutually consent. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mutually%20consent

MLA

“mutually consent.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mutually%20consent. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mutually consent,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mutually%20consent.

Source: mutually consent on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.