acceptable

acceptable damage

Destruction or casualties that are considered reasonable because they happen in the context of a war or military attack. Many would argue that even one lost life should not be considered acceptable damage. The general considered the destruction of the tanks to be acceptable damage since his soldiers returned from the mission alive and uninjured. With all due respect, sir, when you're an average person living in a country being invaded, there is no such thing as "acceptable damage."

See also: acceptable, damage

acceptable losses

Destruction or casualties that are considered reasonable because they happen in the context of a war or military attack. The general considered the destruction of the tanks to be acceptable losses since his soldiers returned from the mission alive and uninjured. Many would argue that any lost lives should not be considered acceptable losses With all due respect, sir, when you're an average person living in a country being invaded, there is no such thing as "acceptable losses."

See also: acceptable, loss

the acceptable face of (something)

A presentation, manifestation, or aspect of something that is or tries to be acceptable or even attractive. They claim to be defenders of free speech, but they're just trying to be the acceptable face of racism, if you ask me. Their country, with its economic success and reputation for human rights, has become the acceptable face of communism.

See also: acceptable, face, of

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

acceptable damage

 and acceptable losses

Euph. casualties or destruction inflicted by an enemy that is considered minor or tolerable. At present, the enemy's first-strike capability would produce acceptable damage. The general indicated that the fifty thousand casualties were within the range of acceptable losses.

See also: acceptable, damage

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

the acceptable face of something

The acceptable face of something is the part of it that people accept or like, even if they do not like the thing itself. She was the acceptable face of a modern monarchy. He was a successful businessman who showed the acceptable face of capitalism.

See also: acceptable, face, of, something

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

the acceptable face of

the tolerable or attractive manifestation or aspect of.

1996 New York Review of Books He presents himself as the acceptable face of gambling…the man who, almost single-handedly, has turned a huckster's paradise into a gangster-free zone.

See also: acceptable, face, of

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017