you can't win

Also, you just can't win. Whatever one does is wrong or not enough, as in Every time I block one of the woodchuck's holes, I find another; you just can't win. [First half of 1900s] For a synonym, see damned if I do, damned if I don't.

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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.

"You can't win a general election or be the largest party as a one-man band. Farage will have to find a way of sharing the limelight."

From BBC

When former Liverpool defender Alan Hansen declared at the start of the 1995-96 Premier League season "You can't win anything with kids", Alex Ferguson's young Manchester United stars went on to prove him wrong.

From BBC

"What that means is that in every constituency there would be an effective electoral threshold of 13, 14 or maybe 15%, so if you can't win that share of the vote or higher, you are not going to win any seats and that really squeezes these smaller parties," he said.

From BBC

"You can't win an election if you're not trusted to run the economy. And Labour has a historical problem that goes back a very, very long way," she tells me.

From BBC

You can't win the title on moving day, they say, but you can certainly lose it.

From BBC

You can't unscramble an egg you can't win 'em all

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