all roads lead to Rome
Meaning: There are many ways to reach the same goal.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “Some learn guitar from lessons, others from videos; all roads lead to Rome.”
Category: Daily Life
Origin: The Roman Empire's road network radiated from the capital. The medieval Latin writer Alain de Lille (12th century) wrote that a thousand roads lead men to Rome, and Chaucer uses the idea in his Treatise on the Astrolabe (1391).
Equivalents in other languages
- French: Tous les chemins mènent à Rome — literally: All roads lead to Rome
More idioms — Daily Life
- shut up shop — To close a business, either for the day or for good.
- penny wise and pound foolish — Careful with small amounts of money but wasteful with large ones.
- meet someone halfway — To make a compromise with someone.
- wear sackcloth and ashes — To show public regret or repentance.
- sit on the fence — To avoid taking sides.
- take an ax to — To cut something drastically, especially spending or jobs.
More English idioms
- a snake-oil salesman — A swindler who sells fake remedies or worthless solutions.
- it doesn't take a rocket scientist — Something is easy to understand; no special intelligence is needed.
- do a moonlight flit — To leave one's home secretly at night, usually to avoid paying rent or debts.
- pipped at the post — To be beaten at the very last moment.
- twiddle one's thumbs — To do nothing while waiting or out of boredom.
- a nest of vipers — A group of people who scheme against or betray each other.
From our tongue twisters
- Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said the butter's bitter. — A 'b / t / tt' plosive drill that bounces between Betty, butter, and bitter.
- She sells seashells by the seashore. — The definitive 's' versus 'sh' alternation — the tongue has to switch place of articulati…
- Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. — A relentless 'p' plosive drill; a peck is an old dry measure of about nine litres.