Lamb to the slaughter In english explanation

The meaning, explanation, definition and origin of the idiom/phrase "Lamb to the slaughter", English Idiom Dictionary ( also found in Vietnamese )

Jimmy Hung

2021-10-06 07:10

Meaning of Lamb to the slaughter (redirected from (like) a lamb/lambs to the slaughter )

Variants:

like a pig/pigs to the slaughter , like a lamb being led to (the) slaughter , a pig being led/pigs being led to the slaughter

(like) a lamb/lambs to the slaughter simile

Used to refer to someone who does something dangerous or risky without realizing it

I didn't expect him to go all-in like that. He was like a lamb to the slaughter.

We were like lambs to the slaughter, when we agreed to cooperate with them.

Other phrases about:

discretion is the better part of valour

We should be careful in doing everything instead of doing something risky.

If you play with fire, you get burned

If you do something dangerous or risky, you will get hurt.

save somebody's/your neck/skin/hide

To save somebody or yourself from a difficult, dangerous or bad situation

take evasive action

Do something aimed at evading an opponent

go in search of the golden fleece

To start an adventure that presents risks or challenges.

Origin of (like) a lamb/lambs to the slaughter

The book of Jeremiah. (Image Source: Christianity)

The origin of this phrase can be found in the Bible, specifically in the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah. It says in Jeremiah:

“But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter; And I did not know that they had devised plots against me, saying, “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, And let us cut him off from the land of the living, That his name be remembered no more.”