proverb · Words worth keeping
All is fair in love and war.
All is fair in love and war.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying claims that everything is fair in love and war. It portrays powerful aims as reasons to suspend ordinary limits on conduct.
What the words are saying
All removes distinctions between acceptable and harmful actions. A critical interpretation can explain the excuse being offered without endorsing it. Strong feelings or conflict do not settle whether conduct is respectful or justified. A useful discussion asks what limits should still apply when a speaker wants an exceptional licence to pursue a goal.
Everyday example
Someone rejects the phrase as an excuse for misleading a partner and addresses the actual conduct instead.
When to use it
Use it to examine an attempted exception to ordinary standards.
What it does not mean
It does not justify deception, coercion, violence or the suspension of obligations.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided proverb reference
Supplied reference A; unit 26; PDF page 7
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.