good intentions pave the road to hell
proverb Good intentions do not matter if a person's actions lead to bad outcomes. A variant of "the road to hell is paved with good intentions." A: "I'm sorry, I was only trying to explain where Tom was coming from! I didn't mean to make matters worse." B: "Yeah, well, good intentions pave the road to hell." I was just trying to help, but they're mad at me for "interfering" with their personal business. Truly, good intentions pave the road to hell! In case you needed a reminder that good intentions pave the road to hell, I gave my brother a job, and he ended up stealing money from my company!
the road to hell is paved with good intentions
proverb Good intentions do not matter if a person's actions lead to bad outcomes. A: "I'm sorry, I was only trying to explain where Tom was coming from! I didn't mean to make matters worse." B: "Yeah, well, the road to hell is paved with good intentions."
the way to hell is paved with good intentions
proverb Good intentions do not matter if a person's actions lead to bad outcomes. A: "I'm sorry, I was only trying to explain where Tom was coming from! I didn't mean to make matters worse." B: "Yeah, well, the way to hell is paved with good intentions."
with the best of intentions
Aiming for a good or positive outcome. Often said after something has gone wrong. Although I planned the family reunion with the best intentions, it turned into hours of fighting between relatives.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
road to hell is paved with good intentions
Prov. People often mean well but do bad things. (Can be a strong rebuke, implying that the person you are addressing did something bad and his or her good intentions do not matter.) Jane: I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings; I only wanted to help you. Jane: Oh, yeah? The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
with a view to doing something
and with an eye to doing somethingwith the intention of doing something. I came to this school with a view to getting a degree. The mayor took office with an eye to improving the town.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
road to hell is paved with good intentions, the
Well-intended acts can have disastrous results, as in She tried to help by defending Dad's position and they haven't spoken since-the road to hell is paved with good intentions . This proverbial idiom probably derives from a similar statement by St. Bernard of Clairvaux about 1150, L'enfer est plein de bonnes volontés ou désirs ("Hell is full of good intentions or wishes"), and has been repeated ever since. [Late 1500s]
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 road to hell is paved with good intentions
People say the road to hell is paved with good intentions to mean that people often intend to do good things but in fact do not, often because they are lazy or weak. She said the road to hell was paved with good intentions, that she really had decided to hand write six dozen personal letters, but she just didn't have the time. Note: Path is sometimes used instead of road. The path to hell is paved with good intentions, and there are many, many pots of vitamin tablets which have been started but never finished. Note: To pave a path or road means to cover it using flat stones called paving stones. The word `pavement' is derived from this word. This expression was used by the writer Samuel Johnson and is mentioned in his biography in an entry dated 16 April 1775, in the form `hell is paved with good intentions'. The idea is that good intentions do not guarantee a good outcome.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
the road to ˌhell is paved with good inˈtentions
(saying) it is not enough to intend to do good things, behave better, etc.; you must actually do them, be better, etc.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
hell is paved with good intentions, the road/way to
Meaning well is not the same as doing well and may even make matters worse. Allegedly this phrase was first uttered by St. Bernard of Clairvaux (ca. 1150) but was not attributed to him until early in the seventeenth century. By 1678 it was part of John Ray’s proverb collection, as “Hell is full of good meanings and wishes, but heaven is full of good works.” Dickens was one of the many writers who have referred to it; in Our Mutual Friend (1865) he wrote, “You recollect what pavement is said to be made of good intentions. It is made of bad intentions, too.”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer