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The origin of: "Every man for himself"?
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Harrison Hill
Jul 5, 2012, 3:55:47 AM7/5/12
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Can anyone tell me the origin of "Every man for himself"?
My father-in-law maintained it was an official army "order" - a very rare one - and one that was issued to him at Arnhem.
For completeness: he and his best friend were completely unharmed by the battle. When the order was passed down to them, he decided he would stay put and look after the wounded (just about everyone else) while his friend decided to make a break for it under cover of darkness. Both chose well; both survived the war completely unhurt.
My father-in-law maintained it was an official army "order" - a very rare one - and one that was issued to him at Arnhem.
For completeness: he and his best friend were completely unharmed by the battle. When the order was passed down to them, he decided he would stay put and look after the wounded (just about everyone else) while his friend decided to make a break for it under cover of darkness. Both chose well; both survived the war completely unhurt.
Message has been deleted
Iain Archer
Jul 5, 2012, 4:39:59 AM7/5/12
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Lewis wrote on Thu, 5 Jul 2012
>In message <f67ed225-cc09-4171...@googlegroups.com>
>full idiom is "It's every man for himself, and the Devil take the
>hindmost."
>
>Basically it means, "get out fast, no one is staying behind to help you
>and the slowest may well die/get left behind/etc"
>
OED Online: man, n.1 (and int.)
....
c. every (also each) man for himself : look out for your own interests
before those of anyone else; (also) designating a situation in which
each person is preoccupied with his or her own safety or advancement.
c1385 Chaucer Knight's Tale 1182 At the kynges court my brother Ech
man for hymself.
?1515 A. Barclay Egloges i. sig. Eijv, Eche man for hym selfe, and
the frende for all.
1562 J. Heywood Dial. Prov. ii. ix, in Wks. sig. k4, Every man for
him selfe, and god for us all.
1615 T. Adams White Devill (ed. 4) 83 That by-word, Euery man for
himselfe, and God for vs all, is vncharitable, vngodly; and impugneth
directly the end of euery good calling, and honest kind of life.
1729 J. Gay Polly ii. xii. 48 Every man for himself, say I There is
no being even with mankind, without that universal maxim.
1798 J. O'Keeffe Tantara-rara i. ii. 358 Oh, very well, gentlemen,
I'll throw up the hand, and ev'ry man for himself. (a loud knocking)
There's the young Lord—plague on your mutinying—to your posts—fly!
1825 J. Neal Brother Jonathan III. xxix. 90 ‘Forward! Forward!’
were the cries, on every side of our hero. ‘Forward! forward! every
man for himself!’
1880 in F. B. Hough Thousand Islands of River St. Lawrence 85 Acting
upon the maxim of ‘every man for himself’, the crowd dispersed.
1916 Amer. Jrnl. Sociol. 21 607 A world literally of
every-man-for-himself would be a world of disinherited men.
1922 H. S. Walpole Cathedral i. i. 14 They had been troublous times.
It had been every man for himself.
1967 G. Baxt Swing Low Sweet Harriet viii. 86 In times of disaster,
kiddo, it's every man for himself.
1991 Newsweek 23 Dec. 32/1 ‘The '80s were about every man for
himself,’ says Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton.
1997 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) Feb. 91/2 An every-man-for-himself attitude
among the staff..poses a serious hazard.
The Oxford Dictionary of English Proverbs also includes:
1830 Marryat, King's Own liii:
The captain ... ordered the sailor to leave the boat. 'Every man for
himself, and God for us all!' was the cool answer of the refractory
seaman.
though even that doesn't really answer your implicit question.
There's also of course "sauve qui peut".
--
Iain Archer
>In message <f67ed225-cc09-4171...@googlegroups.com>
> Harrison Hill <harrison...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Can anyone tell me the origin of "Every man for himself"?
>>
>>My father-in-law maintained it was an official army "order" - a very
>>rare one - and one that was issued to him at Arnhem.
>
>It is a well-known English idiom dating back at least 400 years. The
>> Can anyone tell me the origin of "Every man for himself"?
>>
>>My father-in-law maintained it was an official army "order" - a very
>>rare one - and one that was issued to him at Arnhem.
>
>full idiom is "It's every man for himself, and the Devil take the
>hindmost."
>
>Basically it means, "get out fast, no one is staying behind to help you
>and the slowest may well die/get left behind/etc"
>
OED Online: man, n.1 (and int.)
....
c. every (also each) man for himself : look out for your own interests
before those of anyone else; (also) designating a situation in which
each person is preoccupied with his or her own safety or advancement.
c1385 Chaucer Knight's Tale 1182 At the kynges court my brother Ech
man for hymself.
?1515 A. Barclay Egloges i. sig. Eijv, Eche man for hym selfe, and
the frende for all.
1562 J. Heywood Dial. Prov. ii. ix, in Wks. sig. k4, Every man for
him selfe, and god for us all.
1615 T. Adams White Devill (ed. 4) 83 That by-word, Euery man for
himselfe, and God for vs all, is vncharitable, vngodly; and impugneth
directly the end of euery good calling, and honest kind of life.
1729 J. Gay Polly ii. xii. 48 Every man for himself, say I There is
no being even with mankind, without that universal maxim.
1798 J. O'Keeffe Tantara-rara i. ii. 358 Oh, very well, gentlemen,
I'll throw up the hand, and ev'ry man for himself. (a loud knocking)
There's the young Lord—plague on your mutinying—to your posts—fly!
1825 J. Neal Brother Jonathan III. xxix. 90 ‘Forward! Forward!’
were the cries, on every side of our hero. ‘Forward! forward! every
man for himself!’
1880 in F. B. Hough Thousand Islands of River St. Lawrence 85 Acting
upon the maxim of ‘every man for himself’, the crowd dispersed.
1916 Amer. Jrnl. Sociol. 21 607 A world literally of
every-man-for-himself would be a world of disinherited men.
1922 H. S. Walpole Cathedral i. i. 14 They had been troublous times.
It had been every man for himself.
1967 G. Baxt Swing Low Sweet Harriet viii. 86 In times of disaster,
kiddo, it's every man for himself.
1991 Newsweek 23 Dec. 32/1 ‘The '80s were about every man for
himself,’ says Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton.
1997 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) Feb. 91/2 An every-man-for-himself attitude
among the staff..poses a serious hazard.
The Oxford Dictionary of English Proverbs also includes:
1830 Marryat, King's Own liii:
The captain ... ordered the sailor to leave the boat. 'Every man for
himself, and God for us all!' was the cool answer of the refractory
seaman.
though even that doesn't really answer your implicit question.
There's also of course "sauve qui peut".
--
Iain Archer
James Hogg
Jul 5, 2012, 4:50:25 AM7/5/12
to
--
James
Don Phillipson
Jul 5, 2012, 10:38:58 AM7/5/12
to
> Harrison Hill <harrison...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Can anyone tell me the origin of "Every man for himself"?
>>
>>My father-in-law maintained it was an official army "order" - a very
>>rare one - and one that was issued to him at Arnhem.
"Lewis" <g.k...@gmail.com.dontsendmecopies> wrote in message
>> Can anyone tell me the origin of "Every man for himself"?
>>
>>My father-in-law maintained it was an official army "order" - a very
>>rare one - and one that was issued to him at Arnhem.
news:slrnjvaiqi....@krismbp.local...
> It is a well-known English idiom dating back at least 400 years. The
> full idiom is "It's every man for himself, and the Devil take the
> hindmost."
>
> Basically it means, "get out fast, no one is staying behind to help you
> and the slowest may well die/get left behind/etc"
It signals the immediate suspension of formal military discipline.
Under orders, corporals must obey sergeants, sergeants must
obey lieutenants, etc., even at the risk of death. A military order
"Every man for himself" annuls this requirement, at least for the
present emergency. After this order soldiers may disobey their
superiors without being guilty of mutiny.
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)
pensive hamster
Jul 5, 2012, 7:44:41 PM7/5/12
to
J. J. Lodder
Jul 6, 2012, 2:14:35 PM7/6/12
to
It means that the soldiers/sailors are no longer under orders.
IIRC it also applies in the merchant marine.
Jan
J. J. Lodder
Jul 8, 2012, 6:56:04 AM7/8/12
to
Lewis <g.k...@gmail.com.dontsendmecopies> wrote:
> In message <f67ed225-cc09-4171...@googlegroups.com>
> Harrison Hill <harrison...@gmail.com> wrote:
> In message <f67ed225-cc09-4171...@googlegroups.com>
> Harrison Hill <harrison...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Can anyone tell me the origin of "Every man for himself"?
> >
> >My father-in-law maintained it was an official army "order" - a very
> >rare one - and one that was issued to him at Arnhem.
>
> >
> >My father-in-law maintained it was an official army "order" - a very
> >rare one - and one that was issued to him at Arnhem.
>
> It is a well-known English idiom dating back at least 400 years. The
> full idiom is "It's every man for himself, and the Devil take the
> hindmost."
>
> Basically it means, "get out fast, no one is staying behind to help you
> and the slowest may well die/get left behind/etc"
A more pious form is:
> full idiom is "It's every man for himself, and the Devil take the
> hindmost."
>
> Basically it means, "get out fast, no one is staying behind to help you
> and the slowest may well die/get left behind/etc"
"Every man for himself, and God for us all"
Jan
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