proverb · Words worth keeping
An indifferent agreement is better than a good verdict.
An indifferent agreement is better than a good verdict.
In print by 1893 AD · industrial
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
A workable compromise may be more useful than a satisfying declaration that one side has won. The saying draws attention to the costs of prolonged conflict, while preserving the need for a fair outcome.
What the words are saying
The indifferent agreement is understood here as a modest or imperfect settlement, contrasted with an apparently favourable verdict. The proverb asks whether winning a dispute on paper is worth the time, strain or damaged cooperation involved. In an ordinary group disagreement, an acceptable arrangement can let useful work continue before every preference is satisfied. This is an editorial figurative reading, not advice about a legal case. Compromise is not automatically wise when it entrenches coercion or denies someone fair treatment. The useful question is whether the agreement is genuinely workable for those affected, rather than merely quieter or more convenient for the stronger party.
Everyday example
Two organisers accept alternating meeting times instead of prolonging an argument over one preferred slot.
When to use it
Use it to consider fair, workable compromise in a group dispute.
What it does not mean
Peace at another person’s expense is not a sound agreement.
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 proverb
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1893 AD · industrial
In print by 1893: recorded in Dictionary of Quotations (1893). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- Dictionary of Quotations (1893) (1893 AD)
Printed citation: Pr. · page_015
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.