Advertisement
Advertisement
to the victor belong the spoils
Idioms and Phrases
The winner gets everything, as in He not only won the tournament but ended up with numerous lucrative endorsements—to the victor belong the spoils . This expression alludes to the spoils system of American politics, whereby the winner of an election gives desirable jobs to party supporters. [First half of 1800s]Example Sentences
In defending one of President Andrew Jackson’s appointments, Marcy said, “To the victor belong the spoils of the enemy.”
The old expression, “to the victor belong the spoils” — you remember.
“In the old days, to the victor belong the spoils. We don't do that,” he said.
“It used to be, ‘To the victor belong the spoils,’” he said at a “commander in chief forum” in New York during the campaign in 2016.
“To the victor belong the spoils of the enemy,” one Jackson ally quipped.
Advertisement
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse