orders are orders
English
Etymology
Calque of German Befehl ist Befehl (“order is order”), used as a defence during the Nuremberg trials (see Nuremberg defense).
Phrase
- Used wrily when someone attempts to justify questionable actions by referring to rules, laws or orders from higher up.
Translations
Translations
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Further reading
- “orders are orders”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
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