law of the jungle
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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.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
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).
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.
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.
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.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017