Idiom
fall on one's sword
Meaning
To resign from a job or other position of responsibility, especially when pressured to do so.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“The manager decided to fall on his sword after the project failed.”
“You should fall on your sword if you cannot lead the team anymore.”
“After the company lost millions due to his poor decisions, the director chose to fall on his sword and resign.”
“When the restaurant received several health violations, the head chef fell on his sword so the owner could hire someone new and keep the business open.”
“The politician fell on her sword by quitting the campaign after her staff made a series of embarrassing mistakes that hurt the party's image.”
“Facing intense public scrutiny and pressure from the board, the chief executive reluctantly fell on his sword to preserve the reputation of the firm.”
Examples
simple
“The manager decided to fall on his sword after the project failed.”
“You should fall on your sword if you cannot lead the team anymore.”
contextual
“After the company lost millions due to his poor decisions, the director chose to fall on his sword and resign.”
“When the restaurant received several health violations, the head chef fell on his sword so the owner could hire someone new and keep the business open.”
“The politician fell on her sword by quitting the campaign after her staff made a series of embarrassing mistakes that hurt the party's image.”
complex
“Facing intense public scrutiny and pressure from the board, the chief executive reluctantly fell on his sword to preserve the reputation of the firm.”
Origin
From the Roman practice of a military leader committing suicide following a devastating defeat. The commander would place his weapon hilt-first on the ground and literally fall on the point of the blade. The method allowed a disgraced officer to take responsibility for failure by his own hand rather than facing the inconvenience of capture or public execution.
Key words
Related idioms
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