| 单词 | one can't make an omelette without breaking eggs |
| 释义 | > as lemmasone can't make an omelette without breaking eggs Proverb. one can't make an omelette without breaking eggs and variants [after French on ne saurait faire d'omelette sans casser des œufs (and variants; 1742 or earlier); compare faire une omelette to break fragile things (dated 1732 in A. Rey Dict. historique de la langue française (1992))] : it is not possible to accomplish something worthwhile without adverse effects elsewhere. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > by the instrumentality of [phrase] > the end justifies the means one can't make an omelette without breaking eggs1796 1796 Monthly Mag. Apr. 248 They said to him, you have made us lose a great many men. ‘Ah! One cannot make pancakes without breaking eggs.’] 1796 Walker's Hibernian Mag. May 411/1 It was remarked to him that he had caused the death of a great many persons. Yes, he replied, omlets are not made without breaking eggs. 1859 T. P. Thompson Audi Alteram Partem II. xc. 65 We are walking upon eggs, and whether we tread East or tread West, the omelet will not be made without the breaking of some. 1898 Times 10 Jan. 13/3 Omelettes cannot be made without breaking eggs, and war cannot be waged without losses of this kind occurring. 1920 C. A. W. Monckton Experiences of New Guinea Magistrate xxv. 297 Have you any conscientious scruples about shedding blood? You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs. 1941 Sci. Monthly July 52/1 Omelettes are not made without breaking eggs, and it may clarify our thinking if we separate the constructive effects of science from those that have been purely destructive. 1976 G. Markstein Man from Yesterday xxxi. 128 It was the cold war, remember... Nobody worried about breaking a few eggs when they made the omelette. 1991 Times Educ. Suppl. 8 Mar. 35/1 ‘You can't make omelettes without breaking eggs’ was the standard, pre-glasnost reply to anyone who expressed misgivings about the human cost of the Russian revolution. < as lemmas |
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