To be summarily dismissed or ousted from employment; to be fired. The new accountant got canned after a miscalculation cost the company hundreds of thousands of dollars.
To summarily dismiss or oust someone from employment; to fire someone. Management promptly canned the new accountant after his miscalculation cost the company hundreds of thousands of dollars.They'll can me if they ever find out I came into work drunk yesterday.
Also, canned music. Prerecorded sound effects that can be played repeatedly, as in That canned laughter doesn't make his jokes any funnier, or Canned music is greatly reducing the number of musical jobs available. O. Henry had the term in his story, Cabbages and Kings (1903): "We'll export canned music to the Latins." Canned laughter today is often used in broadcasting to simulate the reaction of a nonexistent live audience. [c. 1900]
1. mod. alcohol intoxicated. I’ll drive. I’m too canned to walk.
2. mod. having to do with prerecorded laughter or applause that is added to the sound track of a television program. The dialogue was funny enough that they didn’t need to have the laughter canned.
half-canned
mod. alcohol intoxicated; tipsy. He’s half-canned and will be no help at all.