Att kasta yxan i sjön

Meaning: To give up completely.

Language: Swedish

Literally: To throw the axe in the lake

Category: Nature

Origin: Hurling your only tool into the water means abandoning the whole effort once and for all.

More idioms — Nature

• At save den gren over man selv sidder på — To undermine your own position.
• At gå over åen efter vand — To do something in a needlessly roundabout way.
• Mennä metsään — To go completely wrong.
• Házet flintu do žita — To give up prematurely.
• Havadan sudan konuşmak — To make idle small talk.
• آب از سرش گذشته — It is already too late to save the situation.

More Swedish idioms

• Att ha en räv bakom örat — To be cunning and sly.
• Att smita från notan — To dodge paying or shirk responsibility.
• Att sätta sig på tvären — To be obstinate and refuse to cooperate.
• ge järnet — Exert maximum effort; give one's all.
• sitta med skägget i brevlådan — Be in a pickle or difficult predicament.
• ta sig vatten över huvudet — Get in over one's head; take on more than one can manage.

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