`接盘` is a fascinating term that reveals much about risk, responsibility, and social values in modern China, especially in finance and relationships. Originally, its primary home was the Chinese stock market (股市 gǔshì). It describes the action of small retail investors (often called `韭菜 jiǔcài`, or “leeks”) buying up stocks at a high price, just as institutional investors or insiders are selling them off. These small investors `接盘`, “catch the plate,” and are left with massive losses when the price inevitably crashes. They are, in the Western idiom, “left holding the bag.” In the last decade, `接盘` has exploded in popularity as a relationship slang term, where its meaning becomes more controversial and culturally specific. Here, it's most often used to describe a man who dates or marries a woman who is perceived to have a “complicated past”—typically meaning she is not a virgin, is divorced, or has a child from a previous relationship. The man is said to `接盘`, taking on the “baggage” of her past. This usage is often sarcastic or pejorative, reflecting traditional, patriarchal views on female purity and lineage. The man in this situation is sometimes mockingly called a `接盘侠 (jiēpánxiá)`, or a “take-over hero.”
The connotation of `接盘` is almost always negative or, at best, a reluctant acceptance of a high-risk situation.