place to throw away; dumping spot; right time to give up
Refers to a physical place to dispose of something, or figuratively to the right moment or situation to abandon something (e.g., one's life, a habit). Often used in negative or questioning contexts like 捨てどころがない (nowhere to throw away / no good time to give up).
この辺りは粗大ゴミの捨てどころがない。
There's no place around here to dispose of bulky trash.
彼は命の捨てどころを探しているように見えた。
He seemed to be looking for the right moment to throw his life away.
Standard spelling using どころ (a common suffix for 'place' or 'point').
Kanji spelling for the suffix; less common but still seen.
Alternate kanji for the suffix; rare in modern usage.
Compound of 捨て (stem of 捨てる, 'to throw away') + どころ (suffix meaning 'place' or 'point', from 所). The figurative sense of 'right time to give up' likely developed from the idea of a 'place' to discard something abstract.