better a lean peace than a fat victory. (17th century)
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
It's better to have a modest but peaceful outcome than a significant gain at a great cost.
Literally: a lean peace vs a fat victory
Examples
After the long and bloody war, the general chose to negotiate a treaty, saying better a lean peace than a fat victory.
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed on English Wikiquote “English proverbs” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31). Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “better a lean peace than a fat victory. (17th century)” mean?
It's better to have a modest but peaceful outcome than a significant gain at a great cost. Literally: a lean peace vs a fat victory
Is “better a lean peace than a fat victory. (17th century)” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.