win some, lose some
In life, you will always succeed in some situations and fail in others. Used especially as consolation following some loss or failure. A: "I'm so sorry to hear about the game last night." B: "Eh, win some, lose some. We'll just do our best and hopefully win next week." We had to shut the business down this week, but it has always been win some, lose some in this industry.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
win some, lose some
It's not possible to win all the time, as in
The coach was philosophical about our being shut out, saying "Win some, lose some." This expression, generally uttered about a loss, originated in the early 1900s among gamblers who bet on sporting events. A variant,
win some, lose some, some rained out, suggests that the idiom comes from baseball. Its figurative use dates from the 1940s. Also see
you can't win 'em all.
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.
Win some, lose some
and WSLS phr. & comp. abb. Sometimes one will succeed, other times, one will fail. WSLS. I’m philosophical about it.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
win some, lose some, (you)
Accept that some ventures end in victory and others in defeat. This philosophical phrase of acceptance has numerous ancestors with the same meaning—if I lose on the swings I’ll get back on the roundabouts was a common version in early twentieth-century Britain—but the current cliché dates only from about 1920 or so. It probably originated in gambling, possibly in betting on sports events. The London Times used it in 1976: “On the other hand, you . . . got your way over Mrs. Thatcher’s nominee . . . you win some, you lose some.” In July 1990, Time reported, “For a man facing the possibility of 20 years behind bars, John Mulheren was remarkably philosophical. ‘You win some, you lose some,’ said the fallen Wall Street arbitrager last week after a Manhattan jury found him guilty on four felony counts.” See also you can't win them all.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer