on bended knee

Idioms  

1. Humbly, pleading, as in They're desperate for funds; they're asking for contributions on bended knee. This expression alludes to a traditional attitude of supplication. Bended, the past tense of bend, survives only in this idiom, elsewhere having been replaced by bent. [Mid-1600s]

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Example Sentences

His colleagues celebrated his candidacy by circulating an image of him on bended knee praying for divine guidance with other lawmakers on the House floor.

From New York Times

Her role was captured during a now-famous moment in the West Wing of the White House, when the Treasury secretary, Henry Paulson, got down on bended knee pleading for Ms. Pelosi’s help.

From New York Times

She says in the show: “Here I am, coming to you, prime minister, on bended knee, for the sign-off, but I’m hoping that will be a formality.”

From Washington Post

And while the escape room puzzle game / visual novel isn’t the equivalent of Tessa Thompson or Tom Hiddleston — or Tessa Thompson and Tom Hiddleston — showing up at my door on bended knee; I can say it’s more like that greasy guy from The Bear cooking an intimate dinner for two in his furniture-less apartment — absolutely incredible but sparse and far too short.

From The Verge

Me on bended knee, with a ring I'd emptied my bank account to buy.

From Salon