fall on one's sword: meaning & examples

Meanings:

• 1.

  historicalgeneralneutralliteralarchaic
  • To commit suicide by allowing one's body to fall onto the point of one's sword.

  Examples

  Beta

  • In the ancient battle, the knight fell on his sword rather than face capture.

    En la batalla antigua, el caballero se suicidó con su espada en lugar de ser capturado.

  • He fell on his sword after being defeated in the duel, ending his own life honorably.

    Él se suicidó con su espada tras ser derrotado en el duelo, terminando su vida con honor.

  • The legend says the samurai fell on his sword to avoid dishonor after the defeat.

    La leyenda dice que el samurái se suicidó con su espada para evitar la deshonra tras la derrota.

  • She fell on her sword in the story, choosing death over betrayal.

    Ella se suicidó con su espada en la historia, eligiendo la muerte sobre la traición.

• 2.

  generalidiomaticformalfigurative
  • To resign from a position of responsibility, often under pressure or as a means of accepting responsibility for failure or scandal.

  Examples

  Beta

  • After the scandal, the CEO had no choice but to fall on his sword and resign immediately.

    Tras el escándalo, el CEO no tuvo más opción que renunciar para aceptar la culpa.

  • He was pressured to fall on his sword to save the company’s reputation after the mismanagement.

    Lo presionaron para que asumiera la culpa y renunciara para salvar la reputación de la empresa tras la mala gestión.

  • If the project fails, someone will have to fall on their sword to take responsibility.

    Si el proyecto fracasa, alguien tendrá que asumir la culpa y renunciar para aceptar la responsabilidad.

• 3.

  generalidiomaticinformalfigurative
  • To voluntarily take the blame for a situation, accepting responsibility in order to protect others or to end controversy.

  Examples

  Beta

  • She chose to fall on her sword and admit the mistake to protect her team from backlash.

    Ella decidió asumir la culpa para proteger a su equipo de las críticas.

  • Sometimes a leader must fall on their sword to end controversy and let the group move forward.

    A veces un líder debe asumir la culpa para acabar con la controversia y permitir que el grupo avance.

  • He fell on his sword and took the blame so that his colleagues wouldn't get fired over the error.

    Él asumió la culpa para que sus colegas no fueran despedidos por el error.