kill them all and let God sort them out
Meaning: A grim or joking call to act ruthlessly without distinguishing innocent from guilty.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “When the bug couldn't be found, the manager joked, "Kill them all and let God sort them out," and restarted every server.”
Category: Daily Life
Origin: It goes back to the Albigensian Crusade: at the massacre of Béziers in 1209, the papal legate Arnaud Amalric is reported, by the chronicler Caesarius of Heisterbach writing years later, to have said "Kill them all; God will know his own." Whether he said it is uncertain.
Equivalents in other languages
- French: Dieu reconnaîtra les siens — literally: God will recognize his own
More idioms — Daily Life
- play hooky — To skip school or work without permission.
- sing someone's praises — To praise someone enthusiastically.
- grasp all, lose all — If you try to get too much, you may end up with nothing.
- the power behind the throne — Someone with no official title who secretly controls a leader.
- born in a trunk — Raised in a family of traveling performers and in the business from childhood.
- the road to hell is paved with good intentions — Good intentions are worthless, or even harmful, if they lead to bad actions.
More English idioms
- a little bird told me — I learned it from a secret source I won't name.
- put one's feet up — To relax and rest.
- blow a gasket — To lose one's temper completely.
- hearts and flowers — Excessive sentimentality.
- against all odds — Despite great difficulty or opposition.
- fall into someone's lap — To come to someone without any effort.
From our compliments & insults
- Tête de mule — An impossibly stubborn person who refuses to change their mind no matter what.
- C'est une vraie chèvre — They're hopelessly stubborn and infuriating — a goat that refuses to be moved.
- Casse-pieds — A massive bore or pain in the neck — someone who wears you down with their irritating way…