place (oneself) at (someone's) mercy
place (oneself) at (someone's) mercy
1. To plead with someone to show one lenience and mercy. I have no excuse for what I did; I can only place myself on your mercy and beg for forgiveness. She threw herself at the court's mercy, arguing that her dependence on drugs led her to commit those crimes.
2. To put control over one's fate into someone else's hand. Anyone participating in the scheme is essentially placing themselves at the government's mercy.
See also: mercy, place
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
- throw (oneself) on/at (someone's) mercy
- throw (oneself) on/at the mercy of (someone)
- throw (oneself) upon the mercy of (someone)
- throw oneself at the mercy of some authority
- throw oneself on the mercy of
- throw yourself on somebody's mercy
- throw (oneself) upon (someone's) mercy
- at the mercy of somebody/something
- beg on bended knee
- bended