The wolf finds a reason for taking the lamb. (Strauss, 1994, p. 68)
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
The powerful will find an excuse to exploit the weak.
Literally: a wolf preying on a lamb
Examples
The corporation used a minor infraction as a pretext to take over the small business.
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 2026-08-01; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “The wolf finds a reason for taking the lamb. (Strauss, 1994, p. 68)” mean?
The powerful will find an excuse to exploit the weak. Literally: a wolf preying on a lamb
Is “The wolf finds a reason for taking the lamb. (Strauss, 1994, p. 68)” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.