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

orders are orders

1. Used wrily when someone attempts to justify questionable actions by referring to rules, laws or orders from higher up.

Translations

Translations

• Dutch: bevel is bevel
• Finnish: käsky on käsky
• French: les ordres sont les ordres
• German: Befehl ist Befehl
• Hungarian: a parancs az parancs
• Italian: gli ordini sono ordini
• Polish: rozkaz to rozkaz

Further reading

• “orders are orders”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.