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end justifies the means

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The end justifies the means.

something that you say which means that in order to achieve an important aim, it is acceptable to do something bad. Unfortunately, we'll have to cut down the forest to make space for the golf course, but I feel the end justifies the means.

See also: end, mean

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? References in classic literature
Unhappily Orin Silver, a man of far-reaching aims, had died too soon to prove that the end justifies the means. Ethan Frome by Wharton, Edith View in context More results

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