📖 Meaning
To have no way out; to be driven into a corner with no escape. It describes a desperate situation where all options are exhausted and there is no path forward. The idiom conveys a sense of utter helplessness and being at a dead end.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the classic Chinese novel 'Water Margin' (水浒传), attributed to Shi Nai'an of the Yuan–Ming dynasty. In Chapter 56, when Xu Ning is taken away by the Liangshan heroes, his wife and two maidservants are described as being like ants on a hot griddle—running frantically with no way out (走头无路), unable to eat or drink, panicking in a huddle. The vivid metaphor of ants trapped on a hot surface captures the feeling of being cornered with no escape. Over time the phrase became a common idiom for any situation of utter desperation.
💡 Example Usage
债主天天上门催讨，他已被逼得走头无路，只能变卖房产还债。
With creditors knocking on his door every day demanding repayment, he was driven to a dead end and had no choice but to sell his house to pay off the debts.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 走头无路
- Pinyin: zǒu tóu wú lù
- Literal Translation: walk, head, no, road
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4