金盆洗手
jīn​pén​xǐ​shǒu

to wash one's hands of

  • created sense approved 金盆洗手 · jīn​pén​xǐ​shǒu · to wash one's hands of — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    金盆洗手

    jīn​pén​xǐ​shǒu

    to wash one's hands of

    (idiom) to retire from a life of crime or a particular field of activity; originally referring to a ceremony where an outlaw would wash their hands in a gold basin to signal their permanent retirement

    金 (literal) → 金 · jīn · golden 盆 (literal) → 盆 · pén · basin 洗手 (literal) → 洗手 · xǐ​shǒu · to quit

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

    created sense