# Caesar's wife must be above suspicion

idiom · CEFR C1 · Formal

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/caesars-wife-must-be-above-suspicion
Updated: 2026-08-03

## Meaning

People in public positions must avoid even the appearance of wrongdoing, guilty or not.

## Examples

- A judge cannot accept gifts. Caesar's wife must be above suspicion.
- He had broken no rule by taking the flight, but Caesar's wife must be above suspicion, and the photographs did the rest.
- The inquiry cleared her of every charge and still ended her career, a reminder that in public office Caesar's wife must be above suspicion, and that an acquittal published on page nine cannot undo an accusation printed on page one.

## Origin

In December of 62 BC the rites of the Bona Dea, a festival closed to men, were held in Caesar's house and hosted by his wife Pompeia. A young politician named Publius Clodius Pulcher got in dressed as a woman. He was caught, and the scandal went to trial. Caesar divorced Pompeia. Then, called as a witness against Clodius, he testified that he knew nothing against her. Asked why he had divorced her, Plutarch reports his answer: because his household must be free not only of guilt but of the suspicion of it. The English proverb keeps the standard and drops the marriage. To say that Caesar's wife must be above suspicion is to argue that for someone in public life, looking compromised is damage enough — proof of innocence arrives too late to matter.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.