it is good to have some friends both in heaven and hell
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
It's beneficial to have connections in high and low places.
Literally: having friends in both good and bad places
Examples
The politician believed it is good to have some friends both in heaven and hell, so she donated to both charities and lobbying groups.
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 “it is good to have some friends both in heaven and hell” mean?
It's beneficial to have connections in high and low places. Literally: having friends in both good and bad places
Is “it is good to have some friends both in heaven and hell” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.