过河卒子
guò​hé​zú​zi

one with no way back

  • created sense approved 过河卒子/過河卒子 · guò​hé​zú​zi · one with no way back — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    过河卒子 / 過河卒子

    guò​hé​zú​zi

    one with no way back

    Someone who has no choice but to push forward, or who is in a position where retreat is impossible; literally refers to a pawn in Chinese chess that has crossed the river, which can only move forward or sideways and cannot retreat.

    过 (literal) → 过/過 · guò · to cross 河 (literal) → 河 · hé · river 卒子 (literal) → 卒子 · zú​zi · pawn

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense