discretion

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throw discretion to the wind(s)

To act or behave recklessly and/or fearlessly, with no sense of restraint or propriety. (An older variant of the now more common "throw caution to the wind(s).") After my father won a bit of money at the race tracks, he began throwing discretion to the winds and ended up gambling away everything we had. You can't live life completely reserved, you know—you've got to throw discretion to the wind every now and then.

the soul of discretion

Someone who can be trusted to keep information private. Don't worry, my sister is the soul of discretion—she won't tell anyone about our engagement before we do.

discretion is the better part of valor

Caution is more important than bravery. The expression emphasizes the importance of being cautious and reserving acts of bravery for when they are actually needed. I know you want to try that risky skateboard jump, but remember that discretion is the better part of valor.

at (one's) discretion

In accordance with one's thoughts or judgment on a particular issue. Whether or not you get a bonus is at your boss's discretion, so you better impress her!

an ounce of discretion is worth a pound of wit

It is much better to know when to refrain from speaking than to have the ability to make jokes or witty remarks, which may come at an inappropriate time or be about an inappropriate subject. Now's not the time for one of your lewd jokes, Frank. Didn't anyone ever teach you that an ounce of discretion is worth a pound of wit?

See also: discretion, of, ounce, pound, wit, worth

Discretion is the better part of valor.

Prov. It is good to be brave, but it is also good to be careful.; If you are careful, you will not get into situations that require you to be brave. Son: Can I go hang gliding with my friends? Father: No. Son: But they'll say I'm chicken if I don't go! Father: Discretion is the better part of valor, and I'd rather have them call you chicken than risk your life.

ounce of discretion is worth a pound of wit

Prov. Knowing when to refrain from making jokes is better than being able to make jokes all the time. Mabel makes fun of everybody, regardless of whether or not she hurts their feelings. Someone should tell her that an ounce of discretion is worth a pound of wit.

See also: discretion, of, ounce, pound, wit, worth

discretion is the better part of valor

It is better to be prudent than merely courageous, as in I'm signing up for the easy course first; discretion is the better part of valor. This proverb, a synonym of look before you leap, was first recorded in 1477. Charles Churchill put it in poetic form: "Even in a hero's heart, Discretion is the better part" ( The Ghost, 1762). Shakespeare also used a form of it: "The better part of valor is discretion" ( 1 Henry IV, 5:4).

throw caution to the winds

Also, throw discretion to the winds. Behave or speak very rashly, as in Throwing caution to the winds, he ran after the truck, or I'm afraid she's thrown discretion to the winds and told everyone about the divorce. This expression uses to the winds in the sense of "utterly vanishing" or "out of existence," a usage dating from the mid-1600s. The first recorded use of throw to the winds was in 1885.

discretion is the better part of valour

it's better to avoid a dangerous situation than to confront it. proverb

See also: better, discretion, of, part, valour

at somebody’s diˈscretion

according to what somebody decides or wishes to do: Bail is granted at the discretion of the court. ♢ There is no service charge and tipping is at your discretion.

diˌscretion is the ˌbetter part of ˈvalour

(British English) (American English diˌscretion is the ˌbetter part of ˈvalor) (saying) you should avoid danger and not take unnecessary risksThis comes from Shakespeare’s play Henry IV.

See also: better, discretion, of, part, valour

References in periodicals archive ?

Discretion is the root source of administrative agency power and influence and thus a ubiquitous presence in the modern administrative state.

Army Corps of Engineers--the agency responsible for building and maintaining much of the nation's water resources infrastructure--loudly proclaim that it possesses not a scintilla of discretion over carrying out "the responsibility to maintain Civil Works structures so that they continue to serve their congressionally authorized purposes"?

Agencies running from agency discretion

Absent comprehensive immigration reform as well as the DACA and DAPA programs, prosecutorial discretion remains good policy and may always be requested especially in humanitarian cases where removal will affect families with U.

Prosecutorial discretion as an option for the undocumented

The Discretion comes with front and rear sights tall enough to be viewed when a suppressor is installed.

Discretion: this distinctive Model 1911 combines two major firearms trends in a way that only Dan Wesson can

This Article highlights cases in which frontline officers have used their discretion to engage in problem solving that was later reinforced by, and reflected in, categorical resolutions at the highest levels of the executive.

Bureaucratic administration: experimentation and immigration law

Even if the court decides that disparate impact liability is not available under the Fair Housing Act, pricing discretion may still pose a fair lending disparate treatment risk under both the Fair Housing Act and the ECOA, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has made clear its position that disparate impact is actionable under the ECOA.

Managing the risk of pricing discretion

The threshold or performance target which triggers a bonus payment is the subject of discretion.

BONUSES

Courts are often either confused about what standard of review is proper for hearsay rulings or are reconsidering whether new tests should be created specifically for hearsay rulings, with many jurisdictions abandoning the traditional abuse of discretion review of evidentiary rulings.

Say what? Confusion in the courts over what is the proper standard of review for hearsay rulings

This definition of discretion suggests a distinction between what might be called de jure discretion and de facto discretion: Immunity from reversal may exist because the choice made was permissible or because even though the choice was impermissible, reversal would be improper.

Trial-court discretion: its exercise by trial courts and its review by appellate courts

Of the 22 municipalities with the highest total municipal discretion scores, seven are located in Illinois, four in Colorado, two each in Texas and Georgia, and one each in Arizona, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Ohio, Oregon, and South Dakota.

Measuring municipalities' use of home rule powers

This article integrates previous works and theories on discretion domains, coalesces the multiple threads of thought on the subject and delivers a coherent and compelling theoretical construct from which further work could be undertaken, especially since, before the publication of this article, there was no agreement on what the discretion domains were, although there seemed to be a general consensus that such domains existed.

Typology of the eight domains of discretion: a student research competition was recently run by CMA, in which students were invited to write about how a peer-reviewed journal article had benefited them. This winning entry is by Eu Jin Toh, from Singapore

Walsh, a vocal critic of the rules when they were first introduced, said if the BHA wanted to introduce more discretion the limits should be relaxed to become guidelines, as they were before the recommendations of the whip review were introduced.

Walsh: discretion over whip rule will be a contradiction

CRN opposes the agency's discontinuation of its eight-year-old polity of enforcement discretion allowing use of the CHD health claim on the label of dietary supplements containing phytosterols in free form.

CRN submits comments on phytosterols

In the previous literature researchers have found that the impact of managerial actions on firm performance depends on several managerial factors, among which managerial discretion is the most commonly cited.

Perceived managerial discretion and firm performance: the moderating role of market competition

Using the concept of managerial discretion as a starting point, we use a human agency lens to introduce the construct of successor discretion as a factor that affects the family business succession process.

Becoming the boss: discretion and postsuccession success in family firms

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