the perfect is the enemy of the good
- idiom
:
lo perfecto es enemigo de lo bueno
- Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good—sometimes good enough is the best way forward.
And I there's this phrase, you know, don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
- And I there's this phrase, you know, don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
- I always like to say with things like this, don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
Examples
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She wanted to revise her essay again, but her teacher warned her that the perfect is the enemy of the good.
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When working on the project, remember that the perfect is the enemy of the good.
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Remember, the perfect is the enemy of the good when working on your project.
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Don't let the perfect is the enemy of the good stop you from finishing your work!
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Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good—sometimes good enough is the best way forward.
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She wanted to revise her essay again, but her teacher warned her that the perfect is the enemy of the good.
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When working on the project, remember that the perfect is the enemy of the good.
Antonyms
How Practical
Surface Forms
Morphology
the + perfect + be + the + enemy + of + the + good
The phrase is largely built from transparent lexical items — 'perfect', 'is', 'enemy', 'of', 'good' — so a learner can parse that perfection 'opposes' goodness. However, the proverb's pragmatic meaning (that insisting on perfection can block progress or satisfactory results) is an abstract, metaphorical inference and not fully predictable from the words alone, even though many languages use a similar proverb which helps comprehension.
Etymology
The perfect is the enemy of the good paints a simple picture: someone throws away a useful result because they want it perfect instead of accepting it as good. So, it warns that aiming for 'perfect' can stop you from getting or keeping something 'good' and can block progress.