fall on a grenade
To sacrifice oneself for the sake of others.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“He decided to fall on a grenade to save his friend's reputation.”
“The manager chose to fall on a grenade during the meeting, taking full responsibility for the team's mistake to protect his staff.”
“Recognizing that the project was doomed, the senior director chose to fall on a grenade, resigning immediately to shield his subordinates from the board's harsh scrutiny.”
- 01
catch a falling knife
To buy a financial instrument whose price is falling rapidly.
- 02
fall apart
To be emotionally in crisis.
- 03
fall around
To fall over continually, especially through drunkenness, clumsiness, or incompetence.
- 04
fall asleep
To be affected by paresthesia; to go numb.
- 05
fall at the last hurdle
To fail near the end of an activity, a project, etc.
- 06
fall behind
To be late (for a regular event)
- 07
fall between the cracks
To wind up in an unexpected situation which is, inadvertently, invisible to or not handled by whatever process one had hoped to be subject to; to be overlooked.
- 08
fall between two stools
To fit into neither of two categories and, hence, be neglected or fail.
Last updated August 10, 2026