law of the jungle
4
6.3
- idiom
- /lɔː əv ðə ˈdʒʌŋɡəl/
- Informal
:
ley de la selva
- Even in the freest society, a certain state intervention is necessary to put limits and conditions on individual initiative, for otherwise society would slip into anarchy or the law of the jungle.
In other words, we are heading towards the law of the jungle where the powerful do what they will and the weak do what they must.
- In other words, we are heading towards the law of the jungle where the powerful do what they will and the weak do what they must.
Examples
-
It gives legitimacy to the law of the jungle; might is right.
Blog text (14) -
You want the law of the jungle.
Blog text (17) -
It's her or us, the law of the jungle
-
It's the law of the jungle.
-
And it's back to the law of the jungle.
Fiction book (2000) -
In other words, we are heading towards the law of the jungle where the powerful do what they will and the weak do what they must.
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History teaches us that the law of the jungle will not lead to the coexistence of human society and that the arbitrary use of force cannot make the world a better place.
Blog text (13) -
Competition and natural selection—the law of the jungle—are already leaving dinosaur carcasses by the side of the path.
Academic text (1995) -
She had been a good friend to Catherine, had stood by her, but the law of the jungle prevailed when it came to catching a man, and she had been the first to agree that Catherine was bound to get over it; would find someone worthier to love one day, someone more of her own kind.
Fiction book (1995) -
In a competitive business world, it's often described as the law of the jungle where only the strongest companies survive.
Synonyms
108
5.3
A situation with strong competition where only the strongest survive
10
6.2
A wild fight or argument with many people and no rules
Antonyms
- Specialized
3
5.8
A computer model that gives equal results for different groups and avoids bias
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase composes 'law' (rule) with 'jungle' (a wild, competitive environment) in a straightforward metaphor: a rule that governs a fiercely competitive setting, i.e. survival-of-the-fittest behavior. This metaphorical mapping is common cross-linguistically (e.g. Spanish 'ley de la selva') and follows an obvious compositional pattern, so a B1 learner who knows the words can readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The phrase law of the jungle pictures a wild jungle with no law, where animals must fight to 'survive'. So it means situations where people or groups compete without fair rules and 'only the strongest or most ruthless' win.