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Nice guys finish last

Cultural  

  1. Winning requires toughness, even ruthlessness; attributed to professional baseball manager Leo Durocher.

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.

In fact, one of the most famous quips in sports, Leo Durocher's "Nice guys finish last," was directed at Giants Manager Mel Ott back when both teams played in New York.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 22, 2014

To the late Leo Durocher's way of thinking, "Nice guys finish last."

From Seattle Times • Apr. 8, 2012

"Nice guys finish last," was his famous motto.

From Time Magazine Archive

"Nice guys finish last," is Lippy's motto, and he was in midseason form when the Cubs lost to the American League's California Angels 10-1.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.