fall on one's sword

English

Etymology

Refers to the practice of some Roman military leaders, who would commit suicide following a devastating defeat by literally falling on the point of their own swords.

Pronunciation

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Verb

fall on one's sword (third-person singular simple present falls on one's sword, present participle falling on one's sword, simple past fell on one's sword, past participle fallen on one's sword)

1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: To commit suicide by allowing one’s body to drop onto the point of one's sword.
2. (idiomatic, by extension) To resign from a job or other position of responsibility, especially when pressured to do so.
   • 1992 November 9, Paul A. Witteman, “Roger's Painful Legacy”, in Time‎^[1], archived from the original on 2012-01-06:

     [Bob] Stempel was laboring to undo the damage when GM's board forced him to fall on his sword after little more than two years on the job.

   • 2009 April 26, Glen Owen, Brendan Carlin, “Even Darling thinks his Budget doesn't add up as relations with Brown hit all-time low”, in Daily Mail‎^[2], retrieved May 2, 2009:

     ‘There is no sympathy for her […] ’ one Minister said. ‘She [Jacqui Smith] may just fall on her sword, or Gordon [Brown] might humiliate her with a demotion to something like the Department for International Development.

   • 2021 June 26, Toby Helm, Michael Savage, Peter Walker, “Matt Hancock resigns as health secretary after day of humiliation”, in The Observer‎^[3]:

     The minister fell on his sword after a day that began with senior Tories observing a deliberate silence over Hancock’s future – seemingly to test public opinion in their constituencies – before many later broke ranks to insist he had to go.

3. (idiomatic) To voluntarily take the blame for a situation.

   Synonyms: (informal) take the rap, take the fall

   • 1987 July 20, Ed Magnuson, “The "Fall Guy" Fights Back”, in Time‎^[4], archived from the original on 12 May 2008:

     The bemedaled Marine refused to fall on his sword and take full blame for the scandal.

   • 1996, Chip R. Bell, Managers as mentors: building partnerships for learning, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, →ISBN, page 81:

     Humility does not require you to fall on your sword.

   • 2006 September 28, L. Woellert, P. Burrows, “HP's Showdown: Hurd vs. Dunn”, in BusinessWeek‎^[5]:

     In written testimony given to Congress and made public the day before the hearing, Hurd falls on his sword, apologizing for HP's spying on its own directors and invading the privacy of journalists.

See also

• hara-kiri
• fall on a grenade