Phrase guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
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phrase
Used wryly when someone attempts to justify questionable actions by referring to rules, laws or orders from higher up.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Calque of German Befehl ist Befehl (“order is order”), used as a defence during the Nuremberg trials (see Nuremberg defense).
Across languages
10 source translations are retained for this English entry.
