walk the plank

Idioms and Phrases

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]