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win some, lose some

Idioms  

  1. It's not possible to win all the time, as in The coach was philosophical about our being shut out, saying “Win some, lose some.” This expression, generally uttered about a loss, originated in the early 1900s among gamblers who bet on sporting events. A variant, win some, lose some, some rained out, suggests that the idiom comes from baseball. Its figurative use dates from the 1940s. Also see you can't win 'em all.

Example Sentences

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You win some, lose some as part of the game.

From BBC • Oct. 20, 2023

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.