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Glite Dictionary
to wash one's hands

to wash one's hands

3 6.3
Refuse to take the blame for a problem
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : lavarse las manos
  • I truly believed him today when he said he meant it, that he is sickened by Wright's performance and needs to wash his hands of him today.
  • want to wash his hands

Examples

  • Gentlemen, I wash my hands of this weirdness.

    Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)

  • Henry, I'm washing my hands of the whole matter.

    Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)

  • Very well, but I wash my hands of all responsibility.

    Forbidden Planet (1956)

  • No wonder she wants to wash her hands of you.

    Blog text (25)

  • I'll wash my hands of you

    Mum & Dad (2008)

  • All right, l'll wash my hands of it.

    Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

  • Considering Wright's contentious performance yesterday at the National Press Club, one really can't blame Obama for washing his hands of the man.

    Blog text (29)

  • After the scandal, the director decided to wash his hands of the whole situation and stepped down.

  • She made it clear that she would wash her hands of any responsibility for the failed project.

  • Feeling overwhelmed, he chose to wash his hands of the disagreements and let others handle the conflict.

Synonyms

to keep one's hands off
vsto wash one's hands
42 3.6

Not to touch or interfere with something that belongs to someone else

is about denying blame or responsibility rather than physical noninterference
to disavow
vsto wash one's hands
  • Formal
33 7.7

To say you are not responsible for or connected to something

is the informal idiom for refusing involvement or blame
to wash one's hands of
vsto wash one's hands
  • Informal
8 6.7

Stop being involved and refuse to take responsibility for someone or something

is the shorter idiom with the same meaning
to wash oneself of
vsto wash one's hands
4 7.7

To get rid of feelings like guilt or blame

is about refusing involvement or avoiding external responsibility

Antonyms

to take responsibility
193 3.3

To admit you caused a problem and accept the blame

How Responsible

to wash one's hands
  • Informal
3 6.3
to opt out
50 3.5
to abandon
773 3.1

Surface Forms

wash one's hands infinitive
washed one's hands past
washed one's hands past participle
washing one's hands present participle
washes one's hands third person singular

Morphology

wash + one's + hand

The phrase uses a clear bodily-cleaning metaphor—literally 'wash' + 'hands'—to mean removing involvement, so there is a motivated link between the parts and the idiomatic sense. However, the specific sense 'disclaim responsibility' is a conventionalized metaphor that not every B1 learner will reliably infer from the words alone (though cross-linguistic equivalents like Spanish 'lavarse las manos' increase recognizability).

Etymology

The idiom wash one's hands comes from a Bible story where a governor washed his hands in front of people to show he was not to blame. That clear image of cleaning your hands to remove guilt is why the phrase now means 'to refuse responsibility'.