devil take the hindmost, the

1. Let everyone put his or her own interest first, leaving the unfortunate to their fate. For example, I don't care if she makes it or not—the devil take the hindmost. This expression, first recorded in 1608, probably originated as an allusion to a children's game in which the last (coming “hindmost”) is the loser, and came to mean utter selfishness.

Example Sentences

In the elimination, or 'devil take the hindmost', the last rider across the line every other lap is pulled out until just two remaint to contest the final sprint.

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Let the devil take the hindmost; the three or four hindmost if you will; nay, all but those strong-running horses who can force themselves into noticeable places under the judge's eye.

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Doctrines like "Property is but Robbery," "Everyone for himself and the devil take the hindmost," the "Iron Law of Wages" and the "Facts is Facts" of the Gradgrinds were the phrases of the nineteenth century that assisted.

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