the end justifies the means
Meaning: A good result excuses any way of achieving it.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “The coach broke every rule to win, believing the end justifies the means.”
Category: Daily Life
Origin: Often linked to Machiavelli's The Prince (1532), though he never wrote those exact words. Similar ideas appear in Ovid; the phrase in this form became common in modern times.
Equivalents in other languages
- French: La fin justifie les moyens — literally: The end justifies the means
More idioms — Daily Life
- sweet-talk — To persuade someone with flattery.
- get on the wrong side of — To make someone angry or hostile toward you.
- you can't be in two places at once — One person cannot do two things in different places at the same time.
- play to the gallery — To behave in a way meant to win popular approval.
- there's no accounting for taste — People's preferences cannot be explained.
- get one's hooks into — To get a firm hold or control over something or someone.
More English idioms
- a pie-crust promise — A promise that is easily broken.
- drag someone's name through the mud — To damage someone's reputation publicly.
- don't judge a book by its cover — Don't form an opinion based only on appearance.
- as old as the hills — Extremely old.
- forewarned is forearmed — Knowing about something in advance lets you prepare.
- behind closed doors — In private or in secret.
From our compliments & insults
- Du bist ein Schatz — You're a sweetheart.
- 目に入れても痛くない (Me ni irete mo itakunai) — Said of someone you adore completely, often a child or grandchild.
- Bête comme ses pieds — Really not very bright.