lash oneself to the mast
lash oneself to the mast verb: to continue in a course of action even when facing great difficulties and likely disaster.
Verb (1)
lash oneself to the mast (third-person singular simple present lashes oneself to the mast, present participle lashing oneself to the mast, simple past and past participle lashed oneself to the mast)
- To continue in a course of action even when facing great difficulties and likely disaster.
- I hoped not—all authorities seemed to agree the only thing a man could do in such weather was lash himself to the mast and pray. I made a last stubborn attempt to pour logic on the troubled waters.2010, Robert A. Heinlein, Spider Robinson, Variable Star
- At the same time, even as he and Bobby still plot to overthrow Fidel, they are at odds over whether to dump Vietnam's president Diêm overboard, or lash him to the mast and ride out the gale blowing in from Vietnam.2010, Gus Russo, Stephen Molton, Brothers in Arms
Verb (2)
lash oneself to the mast (third-person singular simple present lashes oneself to the mast, present participle lashing oneself to the mast, simple past and past participle lashed oneself to the mast)
- To resist the temptation to make a bad choice.
- The only way in which she could contain her despairing and murderous rage was to lash herself to the mast of her towering superego.2002, Bernardine Bishop, Ideas in Practice, page 34
- Maybe because he's deaf, he won't have to lash himself to the mast to avoid our cries.2007, Alice Greenway -, White Ghost Girls
Forms of lash oneself to the mast
| third-person singular present | lashes oneself to the mast |
|---|---|
| present participle | lashing oneself to the mast |
| past participle | lashed oneself to the mast |
| past | lashed oneself to the mast |
| alternative form | tie oneself to the mast |
Origin of lash oneself to the mast
From the practice of tying oneself to the mast of a sailing ship in rough weather so as not to be swept overboard.
A reference to the scene in Homer's Odyssey in which Odysseus has his men lash him to the mast so that he will not succumb to the lure of the Sirens.
Questions about lash oneself to the mast
- What does lash oneself to the mast mean?
- Lash oneself to the mast means to continue in a course of action even when facing great difficulties and likely disaster.
- What part of speech is lash oneself to the mast?
- Lash oneself to the mast is a verb.
- What is the past tense of lash oneself to the mast?
- The past tense of lash oneself to the mast is lashed oneself to the mast.
Words near lash oneself to the mast in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: lash oneself to the mast (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “lash oneself to the mast.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/lash_oneself_to_the_mast. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.