fall on one's sword
The phrase "fall on one's sword" has its origins in Roman military practices and is now used figuratively in modern contexts.
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Definition
C1General
(figurative, common)To accept responsibility for a mistake or failure, often leading to resignation or public apology.
Example
- After the project's failure, the manager chose to fall on his sword and resigned.
- She fell on her sword, taking the blame to protect her team.
C1Workplace
(figurative, professional)To resign or step down from a position voluntarily, especially due to a significant error or scandal.
Example
- The CEO decided to fall on his sword following the company's financial scandal.
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "fall on one's sword":
take the falllive by the sword, die by the swordswallow one's wordsput to the swordkill oneselfend one's lifedie on one's arsefall flat on one's facefall off one's perchdie a thousand deathscash in one's chipstop oneselfmake one's bowtake a divetake one's lumps