Idiom
give someone an inch and someone will take a mile
Meaning
Alternative form of give them an inch and they'll take a mile.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“If you give him an inch, he will take a mile.”
“I let my assistant leave early once, but then he started arriving late every day; you give someone an inch and they will take a mile.”
“Management initially offered a small compromise to the protesters, but they soon realized that when you give someone an inch and they take a mile, firm boundaries become necessary.”
Examples
simple
“If you give him an inch, he will take a mile.”
contextual
“I let my assistant leave early once, but then he started arriving late every day; you give someone an inch and they will take a mile.”
complex
“Management initially offered a small compromise to the protesters, but they soon realized that when you give someone an inch and they take a mile, firm boundaries become necessary.”
Key words
Related idioms
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