走投无路
- Literal
- to go seeking shelter and find no road
- Figurative
- To have run out of every option, with no road left and no one to turn to; to be backed into a corner.
Where does 走投无路 come from?
No origin story is known: it is a vernacular formula, common from spoken-language drama and fiction onward. The key is 投, which here does not mean "to throw" but "to take refuge with someone, to seek shelter at their door." So 走投 is going from door to door looking for someone to take you in, and 无路 is finding no road at all. The picture is of a person who has already knocked everywhere. It tends to be used for serious straits —debt, ruin, being hunted— rather than an ordinary setback.
How is 走投无路 used? Two examples
- 他生意失败，又欠了一身债，真是走投无路了。
His business failed and he piled up debts on top of it; he really had nowhere left to turn.
- 要不是走投无路，谁愿意去借高利贷。
If you weren't out of options, who would ever go to a loan shark?
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