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hindmost
Every man for himself (and the devil take the hindmost),
and Devil take the hindmostProv. Everyone has to fight for his or her own survival. (You can use this to describe an extremely competitive situation.) At first we tried to help each other study for the exam, but soon it was every man for himself, and the devil take the hindmost. The inventors tried to collaborate, agreeing to share the profits from their invention, but they grew so suspicious of each other that each began to work separately, and devil take the hindmost. When the ship began to sink, it was every man for himself.
every man for himself
each person here should do what is best for themselves
In the world of politics, it's every man for himself. Usage notes: usually used with it's, as in the example
(let) the devil take the hindmost
(old-fashioned) something that you say to mean that you should only think about yourself and your own success and not care about other people You've got to be tough to survive in this business - grab what you can and let the devil take the hindmost.
devil take the hindmost, the
Let everyone put his or her own interest first, leaving the unfortunate to their fate. For example, I don't care if she makes it or not-the devil take the hindmost. This expression, first recorded in 1608, probably originated as an allusion to a children's game in which the last (coming "hindmost") is the loser, and came to mean utter selfishness.
every man for himself
Each individual puts his or her own interests foremost. For example, In this company no one helps anyone-it's every man for himself. In Chaucer's day this dictum was stated approvingly, meaning "if you don't look out for yourself, no one else will," but today such selfishness is usually censured. Despite the wording, the term applies to either sex.
the devil take the hindmost
Let each person follow self-interest, leaving others to fare as they may.
Common Names:
Name | Gender | Pronounced | Usage |
Zoroaster | | ZAWR-ə-as-tər (English) | History |
Roser | | - | Catalan |
Genoveffa | | je-no-VEF-fah | Italian |
Gulbrand | | - | Norwegian (Rare), Danish (Rare) |
Ingo | | ING-go (German) | German, Ancient Germanic |
Kolab | | - | Khmer |