将棋倒し
Meanings
1
falling like dominoes; domino effect
Describes people or things falling one after another in a chain reaction, often in crowds or accidents. The image is of shogi pieces lined up and toppling sequentially.
A domino-like fall occurred on the crowded train.
Please move slowly so that no one falls like dominoes.
2
toppling shogi pieces
Original meaning: the act of knocking over shogi pieces that have been stood in a row. Now mostly used figuratively; the literal sense is rare outside shogi contexts.
As a child, I lined up shogi pieces and played at knocking them over.
Usage patterns
- 〈人〉が将棋倒しになるfor people to fall over one after another like dominoes
The crowd fell like dominoes, and many people were injured.
- 将棋倒しの事故が起きるfor a domino-effect accident to occur
A domino-effect accident occurred on the station stairs.