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like a lamb to the slaughter

Idioms  
  1. Also, as lambs to the slaughter. Innocently and helplessly, without realizing the danger. For example, She agreed to appeal to the board, little knowing she would go like a lamb to the slaughter. This expression appears in several biblical books (Isaiah, Jeremiah), and the simile itself was used by Chaucer.


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

So she set out to reveal the magnetic yet sheltered young woman who later reportedly felt "like a lamb to the slaughter" when she entered her artfully arranged marriage.

From Salon

"I have no desire to return like a lamb to the slaughter," the artist told the BBC by phone.

From BBC

He was like a lamb to the slaughter.

From Golf Digest

“So sending him off to middle school like a lamb to the slaughter . . . ,” Dad answered angrily, but he didn’t even finish his sentence because he saw me in the mirror looking up.

From Literature

“Like a lamb to the slaughter”: Something that you say about someone who goes somewhere calmly, not knowing that something unpleasant is going to happen to them.

From Literature