If anything can go wrong, it will (Also referred to as Murphy's law)
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Sources & notes
Listed on Wikipedia “List of proverbial phrases” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “If anything can go wrong, it will (Also referred to as Murphy's law)” mean?
Things that can go wrong will go wrong
Is “If anything can go wrong, it will (Also referred to as Murphy's law)” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.