wash one's hands of (something), to
wash one's hands of someone or something
Fig. to end one's association with someone or something. (Fig. on the notion of getting rid of a problem by removing it as if it were dirt on the hands.) I washed my hands of Tom. I wanted no more to do with him. That car was a real headache. I washed my hands of it long ago.
See also: hand, of, wash
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
wash one's hands of
Refuse to accept responsibility for; abandon or renounce. For example, I've done all I can for him, and now I'm washing my hands of him. This expression alludes to Pontius Pilate's washing his hands before having Jesus put to death, saying "I am innocent of the blood of this just person" (Matthew 27:24).
See also: hand, of, wash
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
wash (one's) hands of
1. To refuse to accept responsibility for: He washed his hands of the matter.
2. To abandon; renounce: They have washed their hands of him.
See also: hand, of, wash
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
wash one's hands of (something), to
To dismiss or renounce interest in; to turn away and refuse responsibility. The term comes from the Bible, where at Jesus’s trial the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, saw that he could not save Jesus and “washed his hands before the multitude, saying I am innocent of the blood of this just person” (Matthew 27:24). Shakespeare referred to it directly in Richard II (4.1): “Some of you with Pilate wash your hands.” Dickens and others used it somewhat more lightly: “He had entirely washed his hands of the difficulty” (Bleak House, 1853).
See also: hand, of, wash
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- keep an eye on, to
- end of one's rope/tether, at the/come to the
- get one's teeth into (something), to
- palm off, to
- eat one's words, to
- put one's foot in it/one's mouth, to
- bottom of it, at the/get to the
- dawn on (someone), to
- (not) give a fig
- (not) care a fig