IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchBrûler ses vaisseaux
Meaning: To destroy any possibility of retreat.
Literally: To burn one's ships
Example: “En vendant sa maison pour ouvrir son hôtel à Bali, il a brûlé ses vaisseaux.” — By selling his house to open his hotel in Bali, he burned his bridges.
English equivalent: To burn one's bridges
Equivalents in other languages
Ukrainian: Розбити глек (Rozbýty hlek) Literally: To break the jug
English: burn one's bridges
Origin: Attributed to Cortés at Veracruz in 1519, though he ran his ships aground rather than burning them, and the tactic is far older — Agathocles of Syracuse burned his fleet on landing in Africa in 310 BC. The point in every version is that the decision is made for the men, not by them.
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