better bow than break
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
It's better to compromise than to risk a complete failure.
Literally: yield instead of shattering
Examples
The union decided it was better to bow than break and accepted the company's offer.
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 bow than break” mean?
It's better to compromise than to risk a complete failure. Literally: yield instead of shattering
Is “better bow than break” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.