every man for himself

English

Phrase

every man for himself

  1. An expression of indifference, that everyone should forget about comradeship and save themselves.
    • Men, you have done your full duty. You can do no more. Abandon your cabin. Now it's every man for himself. (Titanic Captain Smith addressing crewmen shortly before the vessel's sinking in 1912Lord, Walter, A Night to Remember, p. 89)

Translations

Adjective

every-man-for-himself (not comparable)

  1. selfish
    I quit showbusiness because there was too much of an every-man-for-himself attitude going on
    There was an every-man-for-himself attitude during the time of the Great Depression in 1930s America.
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