{"id":10697,"date":"2022-11-16T22:16:39","date_gmt":"2022-11-16T22:16:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=10697"},"modified":"2022-11-16T22:16:39","modified_gmt":"2022-11-16T22:16:39","slug":"thrown-to-the-wolves-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/thrown-to-the-wolves-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Thrown to the Wolves \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"

People sometimes sacrifice innocents to benefit the group or to save themselves. You can use the idiom \u201cthrown to the wolves<\/strong>\u201d to describe the fate these victims suffer.<\/p>\n

This post unpacks the idiom\u2019s fascinating history and shows how \u201cthrown to the wolves\u201d differs from seemingly similar expressions.<\/p>\n

Meaning<\/h2>\n

The primarily American idiom \u201cto throw [someone] to the wolves<\/strong>\u201d means sacrificing someone for your own benefit or that of others<\/u>.<\/p>\n

The sacrifice in question does not have to be the person\u2019s life. It may also be their job, pride, or social standing, for example. You may throw someone to the wolves for the greater good or selfish reasons.<\/p>\n

Being \u201cthrown to the wolves\u201d has a strong negative connotation. Someone who uses this phrase typically does so to express disagreement with or even disgust for the decision to sacrifice someone.<\/p>\n

Example Usage<\/h2>\n

Getting a feel for the context in which an idiom is used helps you understand its meaning better. Take a look at these sentences that include the expression \u201cthrown to the wolves\u201d:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • \u201cMy nerdy little sister has been looking forward to my birthday party all year, but I\u2019m afraid my new friends from the debate club won\u2019t respect me if she comes. I might have to throw her to the wolves<\/strong>.\u201d<\/li>\n
  • \u201cJoanna has worked harder than anyone, and you want to fire her because that high-profile client doesn\u2019t like her? Throwing people to the wolves<\/strong> like that isn\u2019t OK.\u201d<\/li>\n
  • \u201cThe CEO always emphasizes that mistakes are the only path toward growth and innovation, but he wasn\u2019t afraid to throw<\/strong> the under-performing Michigan team to the wolves<\/strong> when it suited him.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Origin<\/h2>\n

    The idiom \u201cto throw [someone] to the wolves<\/strong>\u201d emerged in the United States in the 19th<\/sup> century<\/strong> or perhaps slightly earlier.<\/p>\n

    The saying refers to the older Russian proverb \u201cto lighten the sleigh<\/strong>,\u201d which refers to the same concept.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThrowing someone to the wolves\u201d comes from old Russian tales of hungry packs of enraged wolves attacking groups of people traveling in horse-drawn sleighs<\/u>.<\/p>\n

    These wolves don\u2019t stop until they get the meal they are after, or so the stories go. Travelers were rumored to solve this problem by pushing one or more of the passengers out of the sleigh<\/u>. Then, the wolf pack would stop to devour the innocent victim, allowing the rest of the group to get away.<\/p>\n

    The unfortunate victims of this act were usually babies, children, or brides and grooms in the stories.<\/p>\n

    A group may decide to sacrifice someone by \u201cthrowing them to the wolves\u201d to give everyone else better odds of survival. People may also make this decision for entirely selfish reasons, valuing their own lives more than another person\u2019s.<\/p>\n

    Phrases Similar to Thrown to the Wolves<\/h2>\n

    Lots of similar-sounding idioms exist in English, but some with different meanings:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Throwing someone under the bus <\/strong>\u2014 meaning abandoning someone because associating with them may harm your reputation.<\/li>\n
    • Throwing someone to the lions<\/strong> \u2014 a reference to a Roman punishment, this phrase means to abandon someone to a cruel fate.<\/li>\n
    • Throwing someone to the dogs <\/strong>\u2014 abandoning someone, not necessarily for a particular reason.<\/li>\n
    • Kicking someone to the curb<\/strong> \u2014 rejecting someone in a humiliating way.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Phrases Opposite to Thrown to the Wolves<\/h2>\n

      Phrases with an opposite meaning include:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • One for all and all for one <\/strong>\u2014 meaning everyone works for the greater good and defends one another.<\/li>\n
      • Do unto others as you would have them do unto you<\/strong> \u2014 treat others how you want them to treat you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        What Is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n

        The correct saying is \u201cto throw someone to the wolves,<\/em><\/strong>\u201d or someone was \u201cthrown to the wolves<\/strong>.\u201d This idiom means sacrificing someone to save yourself or the group.<\/p>\n

        Ways People May Say Thrown to the Wolves Incorrectly<\/h2>\n

        The idiom \u201cthrown to the wolves\u201d has a strong negative connotation. Therefore, don\u2019t use it to describe actions you feel are justified.<\/p>\n

        Acceptable Ways to Phrase Thrown to the Wolves<\/h2>\n

        You can use the idiom \u201cthrown to the wolves\u201d to describe a situation where someone was unfairly rejected, abandoned, or pushed out to benefit others. It is easy to find circumstances that call for this phrase in politics, the corporate world, or sports.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        People sometimes sacrifice innocents to benefit the group or to save themselves. You can use the idiom \u201cthrown to the wolves\u201d to describe the fate these victims suffer. This post unpacks the idiom\u2019s fascinating history and shows how \u201cthrown to the wolves\u201d differs from seemingly similar expressions. Meaning The primarily American idiom \u201cto throw [someone] […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10697"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10697"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10697\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10699,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10697\/revisions\/10699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}