📖 Meaning
To throw away one's armor and carry one's crossbow, describing soldiers abandoning equipment after a defeat in battle. It depicts a routed army fleeing in disarray with broken morale. The phrase conveys complete military collapse and surrender.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom draws on the imagery of ancient Chinese warfare, where soldiers wore armor (甲) and carried crossbows (弩) as standard equipment. After a crushing defeat, fleeing soldiers would cast off heavy armor to run faster while slinging the lighter crossbow across their backs in retreat. The phrase became a conventional description of a beaten, retreating army in classical historical writings and military narratives.
💡 Example Usage
敌军大败，将士们纷纷弃甲负弩而逃。
The enemy army was soundly defeated, and soldiers fled in panic, abandoning their armor and slinging their crossbows as they ran.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 弃甲负弩
- Pinyin: qì jiǎ fù nǔ
- Literal Translation: discard, armor, bear on back, crossbow
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4