It's an ill battle where the devil carries the colours.
Meaning: When evil forces lead the fight, victory itself becomes a moral defeat for all sides involved.
Origin: Recorded in A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, an undated collection published in London by Whittaker & Co. around 1880 and credited to Thomas Preston. Its earlier history hasn't been traced.
More proverbs about Challenge
- It's good to have company in trouble. — Shared hardship becomes more bearable through mutual support and the comfort of knowing y…
- They complain wrongfully of the sea, who twice suffer shipwreck. — Repeated misfortune from the same cause reveals poor judgment rather than bad luck.
- He that will not be counselled cannot be helped. — Resistance to advice ensures problems persist; help requires receptiveness to guidance.
- He covers me with his wings, and bites me with his bill. — A protector may simultaneously harm you through the very closeness required to defend you.
- A crooked tree will have a crooked shadow. — Flawed character inevitably produces flawed outcomes, just as a tree's deformity cannot c…
- Daylight will peep through a small hole. — Light finds its way through the tiniest opening, so truth and hope cannot be completely s…
From our idioms
- لوہے کے چنے چبانا (lohe ke chane chabana) — To face an extremely hard, gruelling task.
- ناک کا بال (nāk kā bāl) — Someone's closest, most trusted confidant.
- Estar nas verzas — To be daydreaming and distracted.