suicide squad

plural suicide squads

1. slanggovernmentA unit assigned to a particularly risky task.

   Synonyms: suicide club

2. slangAmerican footballSynonym of special team.

   The most violent men in pro football play on the suicide squads.

   1971, LIFE, volume 71, number 23, page 3

   Synonyms: special team

1. New Zealandhistoricalinformala group of legislative councillors appointed by Prime Minister Sidney Holland to abolish the New Zealand Legislative Council (upper house), thus making the legislature unicameral.

   Popularly known as the suicide squad, they accepted office on the understanding that they would do away with it.

   1999, Lord Cooke of Thorndon, “Unicameralism in New Zealand: Some Lessons”, in Canterbury Law Review, volume 7, archived from the original on 25 Mar 2025, page 233

   3 more examples

   Prime Minister Sidney Holland is New Zealander of the Year for appointing a parliamentary suicide squad to abolish the undemocratic upper house, the Legislative Council.

   1950 October 17, “1950, Sydney Holland: Honourable suicide squad”, in New Zealand Herald

   It was decided that twenty-six councillors be appointed for this purpose’, but before the Cabinet could discuss the mechanics of the very political act of appointing the ‘suicide squad’ the Cabinet Secretary was asked to absent himself from this crucial meeting.

   2010, H. Kumarasingham, “Unicameralism: The Strange Eventful Death of the Legislative Council of New Zealand”, in Australasian Parliamentary Review, volume 25, number 2, page 73

   When National came to power in 1949, it restacked the Council — this time with the ‘suicide squad’. These members would accept a law to end the Council altogether.

   2016 January 21, “Legislative Council”, in Parliament of New Zealand