“Go to the wall” means being in a desperate situation, often confused with “set by the wall” and “hit the wall”. It refers to close quarters combat, medieval funerary traditions, and hitting the limit of physical endurance. The English language is fluid, with words and expressions constantly acquiring new shapes or meanings.
The phrase “go to the wall” means to be in a desperate situation. It is often confused with the similar phrases “set by the wall” and “hit the wall”. “Laid the wall” means to fail or perish, while “to hit the wall” is an athlete’s term for the limits of physical endurance. The meanings are similar enough that each phrase is sometimes confused with “go to the wall,” particularly in spoken conversation. While each sentence expresses some sort of limit or extreme, each originally refers to a different metaphorical wall.
In its most common meaning, “go to the wall” refers to the close quarters combat that was common before the invention of firearms. A person besieged by multiple opponents would be wise to stand against a wall to prevent an attack from behind. This strategy also means that it is not possible to escape without first defeating the attackers, a desperate situation. The image of a fight is central to this meaning of ‘go to the wall’, sometimes also called ‘against it’ or ‘back to the wall’. During World War I, for example, British General Douglas Haig said, “With our backs against the wall and believing in the justice of our cause, each of us must fight to the finish.”
Another form of “going to the wall” refers to medieval European funerary traditions. Once upon a time, when corpses were taken to cemeteries to be buried, they were placed along the wall of the church or cemetery. This has led to the expression “deposed by the wall”, meaning to be dead but unburied. Like many other expressions for “dead,” “taken down from the wall” soon became a metaphor for utter defeat. While this phrase has fallen out of use in modern times, its meaning has become intertwined with other “wall” expressions.
Endurance athletes, such as marathon runners, refer to a phenomenon known as “hitting the wall.” This occurs when the body is pushed to its limits during strenuous sports, resulting in sudden fatigue due to lack of available dietary energy. In this sense the “wall” is totally metaphorical, referring to the limit of endurance of the body. Athletes will sometimes say “go to the wall” instead, confusing two common expressions about encountering an imaginary wall.
The English language is fluid, with words and expressions constantly acquiring new shapes or meanings. While some despair over the changes in language, these changes ensure that words and phrases continue to be used by new generations of speakers and writers. The various meanings of “go to the wall” are no exception. Even in Shakespeare’s time, sentences were often jumbled. In the first scene of Romeo and Juliet, two characters engage in Shakespeare’s signature pun on the various possible meanings of the phrase “go to the wall.”
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