walk the plank

Idioms  

1. Be forced to resign, as in We were sure that Ted hadn't left of his own accord; he'd walked the plank. This metaphoric idiom alludes to a form of execution used in the 17th century, mainly by pirates, whereby a victim was forced to walk off the end of a board placed on the edge of the ship's deck and so drown. [Second half of 1800s]

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Example Sentences

Change was inevitable and the right call was made for coach Matthew Mott, rather than captain Jos Buttler, to walk the plank.

From BBC • Jan. 22, 2025

Jen Kiggans had the haunted look of a woman about to walk the plank.

From Washington Post • Apr. 28, 2023

Yet despite this knowledge, we still seem poised to "walk the plank with our eyes wide open," to quote Gotye's hit 2010 song on the topic.

From Salon • Sep. 1, 2021

But these guys are serious, and they’re not about to walk the plank just because the Coastal Commission picked a nit or two.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 15, 2021

“Or perhaps they will make me walk the plank, as pirates do. Dear me, I ought to have learned to swim when I had the chance!”

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood