After the argument, she washed her hands of the whole project.
wash your hands of it
idiomTo publicly refuse any further responsibility for something or someone.
Origin
The phrase comes from the trial of Jesus. In Matthew 27:24, the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, unable to calm the crowd demanding a crucifixion he does not believe is just, "took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person."
The gesture is a performance of non-responsibility. Pilate holds the power to stop what is about to happen, yet he stages a ritual to declare the outcome none of his doing — a public disowning of a decision he is in fact allowing.
That is precisely the flavour English kept. To wash your hands of something is to renounce responsibility for it, often theatrically and often when you had a hand in it all along. The echo of Pilate gives the phrase its faint edge of evasion.
The manager approved the plan, then washed his hands of it the moment it went wrong.
The board signed off on every cut, then washed its hands of the fallout, insisting the layoffs had been an operational matter that had nothing to do with them.
The betrayal, trial and crucifixion.
- 01
thirty pieces of silver (idiom)
A contemptible price paid or accepted for an act of betrayal.
- 02
doubting Thomas (idiom)
One who requires proof before believing.
- 03
a cross to bear (idiom)
A heavy, ongoing personal burden or difficulty that one must carry.
- 04
a Judas kiss (idiom)
An act of betrayal disguised as friendship or affection.
- 05
a crown of thorns (idiom)
An honour or position that brings suffering rather than glory.
- 06
give up the ghost (idiom)
To cease clinging to life; to die.