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if worst comes to worst

  1. Also, if worse comes to worst. In the least favorable situation, if the worst possible outcome occurs. For example, If worst comes to worst and the budget is not approved, the government will shut down, or Go ahead and go to school with a cold; if worse comes to worst the teacher will send you home. This expression is nearly always followed by a solution. [Late 1500s]



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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Or maybe he wants to join Donald Trump’s Cabinet or, if worst comes to worst, to be a TV anchor in a new Republican media venture.

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"If worst comes to worst, we have a ballistic parachute system," says Mr Plaut.

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“So it was like, ‘If worst comes to worst, we’ll just be in here writing songs until the end of time.’

Read more on Washington Post

Meanwhile, all I'm hearing is people telling me to quit worrying about it because it's all over now, and anyway, if worst comes to worst, we can always go hide over there in that garage.

Read more on Salon

We had a nice talk and I made sure to take some photos of him so that if worst comes to worst I'd have a nice memory of visiting him.

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If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride-ify