DISCRETION IS THE BETTER PART OF VALOR Definition & Meaning

Discretion is the better part of valor

Caution is preferable to rash bravery. Said by Falstaff in King Henry the Fourth, Part One , by William Shakespeare .

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Idioms and Phrases

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).

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Example Sentences

“Discretion is the better part of valor,” she admits, not entirely convinced herself.

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It may be true that discretion is the better part of valor.

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She goes ahead with the wedding, deciding that discretion is the better part of valor.

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“When you inject the director of the FBI into the mix, even though that’s the expectation as the head of the agency, this situation is so volatile that I think they probably said, ‘Discretion is the better part of valor,’ and let’s just let” other officials handle it.

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During a pandemic, discretion is the better part of valor, said Pauline Frommer, editorial director for Frommers.com and Frommers’ travel guidebooks.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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