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.
Like a fish on the chopping board, he could only wait for the outcome.
試験の前は、まな板の上の鯉の気分だ。
Before the exam, I feel like a carp on the cutting board.
観念する means to resign oneself or give up, but まな板の上の鯉 emphasizes the helpless, passive state of being at someone else's mercy.
諦め is a general term for resignation or acceptance, while まな板の上の鯉 is a vivid idiomatic image of being completely powerless.
Standard kanji-kana mixed spelling for the idiom.
Uses the less common kanji 俎 for まな. Recognizable but not typical in modern writing.
Literally 'a carp on the cutting board'. The image of a fish awaiting preparation has long been used in Japanese to symbolize a person who has no choice but to accept their fate.