我刚跟我一个做银行出纳的朋友吃完午饭。她最近失业了，不过也要怪她自己。不久前开会，她好心建议，可以增设自动提款机，减少开支，银行高层接受了她的建议，结果非常成功，反而不需要她们这些出纳了。这让我想起一个习惯用语：to sign one's own death warrant。
sign是签署的意思，death warrant是死亡证书。to sign one's own death warrant就是己签自己的死亡证书。显而易见，就是“自我毁灭，自寻死路”的意思。
就象我那个出纳朋友，主动提议银行增设自动提款机，全自动了，还要他们这些出纳做什么呢？这就叫, she signed her own death warrant.
在下面这个例子里，一位作者怎么会搬起石头砸了自己的脚呢？
- One of my best selling authors became a multi-millionaire with the continuing adventures of "Detective X". So why did he decide to have his lead character murdered? I don't understand. He must have known that by doing so he was signing his own death warrant. His long career with the series is now over!
我的最畅销的作家之一就是仗着他的《侦探X》系列才成为百万富翁的。他为什么要让主角给人谋杀呢？这我就不懂了。他一定知道，这样做是自毁生路。他写了这么长的系列就算结束了。
美国不久前刚刚发生了一起气球男孩事件。这个孩子的父亲承认，他们欺骗媒体和警方，说孩子爬到热气球里在天上飞，其实完全是为了增加知名度，争取能做个真人秀。可事实上，he signed his own death warrant. 不仅没做成真人秀，反而可能要去坐牢。
在下面这个例子里，一家录像出租店顺应时代潮流，改变经营模式。让我们看看他们的诀窍。
- Star Video did a thriving business when everyone was going to their stores to rent movies. Then the industry began to change. So they added an online mail-order service, featuring all kinds of entertainment, including video games. They could have signed their own death warrant. Instead, they made a smart move that kept them competitive.
原来，所有人都到明星录像店去租电影看。他们的生意火得要命。后来，整个录像带租赁行业发生了变化。他们就增加了网上邮购的服务，提供各种娱乐产品和电子游戏。他们不仅没有自毁前程，反而采取了很聪明的做法，保存了竞争力。
跟to sign one's own death warrant相类似的，还有一种说法，叫to order one's own execution，自己下令处死自己，意思也是自绝生路。
