tbe absent are always wrong
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
The transla- tion of the French proverb, Les absents out toujours tort, which implies that it is always easy to lay the blame on someone who is not present to stand up for himself.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “tbe absent are always wrong” mean?
The transla- tion of the French proverb, Les absents out toujours tort, which implies that it is always easy to lay the blame on someone who is not present to stand up for himself.
Is “tbe absent are always wrong” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.