📖 Meaning
To wash one's neck clean and stretch it under the executioner's blade. It is a metaphor for passively awaiting destruction or death without any resistance. The phrase vividly depicts someone resigned to their fate, making no effort to fight back.
📜 Origin Story
No single classical text is credited as the definitive origin of this idiom. The imagery draws upon ancient execution customs, where a condemned prisoner would have their neck washed before being beheaded. Over time, the phrase became a literary metaphor used in historical novels and vernacular fiction to describe those who surrender to inevitable doom. It appears in various Ming and Qing era works depicting scenes of battle and capitulation.
💡 Example Usage
面对强敌压境，守军若不积极备战，无异于洗颈就戮。
Facing an overwhelming enemy at the gates, the garrison that fails to prepare for battle is essentially washing its neck for the executioner.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 洗颈就戮
- Pinyin: xǐ jǐng jiù lù
- Literal Translation: wash, neck, accept, execution
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4