English Explanatory Dictionary

accidents will happen in the best regulated families

English dictionary entry

Meanings

proverb
  1. Accidents will always happen, even where there is an expectation of success.

Word forms

accidents will happen in the best regulated families

Etymology

First attested in the early 19th century. Popularised by Charles Dickens' novel The Personal History of David Copperfield (1850).

Related words

accidents will happen the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry
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