law of the jungle

The idea that the strongest or most merciless in a society or group will survive. The phrase comes from Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. I refuse to serve as mayor without compassion, so this city will not operate according to the law of the jungle.

See also: jungle, law, of

law of the jungle

Survival of the strongest, as in The recent price war among airlines was governed by the law of the jungle. This term, alluding to the jungle as a place devoid of ethics where brutality and self-interest reign, was first used by Rudyard Kipling in The Jungle Book (1894).

See also: jungle, law, of

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

the law of the jungle

You use the law of the jungle to describe a situation where people who are strong and do not care about harming others are most successful. The streets are subject to the law of the jungle and policing has been entrusted to private law enforcement agencies. She strongly criticized the president for what she described as his attempt to rule by the law of the jungle. Note: This phrase became popular from `The Jungle Book' by Rudyard Kipling (1894). `The law of the Jungle, which never orders anything without a reason, forbids every beast to eat Man, except when he is killing to show his children how to...'. Instead of encouraging aggression, this law actually places limits on the use of violence in the animal kingdom.

See also: jungle, law, of

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

the law of the jungle

the principle that those who are strong and apply ruthless self-interest will be most successful.

1989 Bessie Head Tales of Tenderness & Power And at the beer tank the law of the jungle prevailed, the stronger shoving the weaker.

See also: jungle, law, of

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

the ˌlaw of the ˈjungle

a situation in which people are prepared to harm other people in order to succeed: The police daren’t go into certain parts of the city. It’s the law of the jungle in there. ♢ In this business it’s the law of the jungle.

See also: jungle, law, of

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

See also:

References in periodicals archive

A scene from "The Law of the Jungle," aired on SBS, June 30, shows Lee Yeol-eum taking with her a giant clam from underwater at Hat Chao Mai National Park in Thailand in March 2019.

S.Korea actress charged in Thailand for catching giant clams

Law of the Jungle and Body and Soul also contain ghostly cartoon forms.

Gary Simmons: REGEN PROJECTS

This 'law of the jungle' poses a grave threat to the smooth running of schools.

Let MCAs keep off schools

'On Wednesday, the Chief Justice is about to be impeached in the House where the law of the jungle seems to be prevailing, or what they euphemistically refer to as the law of the supermajority,' CHR Commissioner Roberto Cadiz told reporters.

CHR assails 'law of jungle' in House over Sereno impeachment proceedings

At the waterhole, the wolves and the other animals come together under the law of the jungle. This law is sacrosanct--it informs the way that the animals live and interact with one another.

Journeying through the wild: the jungle book

The didactic guidance comes from his friends in the jungle and his adapted parents in the village, while the life-threatening lessons come form his enemy Shere Khan, a tiger in the jungle who usually breaks The Law of the Jungle and is finally killed by Mowgli.

Kipling's wolf-child story: an allegory of children's socialization

"In fact what they are doing is stripping the principle of sovereign immunities which would turn the world for international law into the law of the jungle", Jubeir said.

SAUDI ARABIA - May 2 - Saudi Minister Confirms Warning On Proposed US Law On 9/11

MIXU PAATELAINEN has told his Dundee United players to follow the law of the jungle in Monday's derby showdown at Dens Park.

The strong will survive & weak will crumble..it's law of the jungle; DUNDEE V DUNDEE U 2 DAYS TO GO

Law of the Jungle: The $19-Billion Legal Battle Over Oil in the Rain Forest and the Lawyer Who'd Stop at Nothing to Win

Oil vs Amazon vs Ego

Even if officials and politicians label crimes as "individual" incidents that don't signal a worrying phenomenon, fewer and fewer people want to take their chances in a place where they see the law of the jungle on the rise.

Law of the jungle

Fearless and free, Mowgli the "man-cub" finds fun and friendship despite learning to live by the law of the jungle.

OTHER THEATRE

The House of Representatives issued a statement in which it said that the brutal acts of racist genocide and gory terrorism committed against Muslims are tantamount to the law of the jungle and constitute a flagrant provocation against one billion Muslims all over the world.

Parliament condemns genocide in CAR

Karbouli warned Prime Minister of " the harm consequences of militias' criminal practices which are perpetrated without punishments according to the law ," noting that everyone will be forced to defend himself , then will be disarray and the law lack of control , so will replaced by the law of the jungle " .

MP : urges Maliki to adopt an explicit position to end killing and displacement experienced by Sunnis in Iraq

We fly, we've discovered DNA and we've landed on the moon--yet the country is run by the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest.

The law of the jungle in Yemenrun by the law of the jungle, survi