まな板いたの上うえの鯉こい

expression, noun

someone doomed to their fate; fish on the chopping board (lit.)

Idiomatic expression describing a person who has no control over their situation and is resigned to whatever happens, like a carp on a cutting board awaiting the knife.

• 彼かれはまな板いたの上うえの鯉こいのように、ただ結けっ果かを待まつしかなかった。

  Like a fish on the chopping board, he could only wait for the outcome.

• 試し験けんの前まえは、まな板いたの上うえの鯉こいの気き分ぶんだ。

  Before the exam, I feel like a carp on the cutting board.