Live to fight another day (This saying comes from an English proverbial rhyme, "He who fights and runs away, may live to fight another day")
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Retreat to regroup and try again later
Literally: live after fleeing a battle
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 “Live to fight another day (This saying comes from an English proverbial rhyme, "He who fights and runs away, may live to fight another day")” mean?
Retreat to regroup and try again later Literally: live after fleeing a battle
Is “Live to fight another day (This saying comes from an English proverbial rhyme, "He who fights and runs away, may live to fight another day")” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.