no harm, no foul
Although technically a breach of some code or law may have occurred, there was no actual damage meriting punishment, apology or retribution.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“I accidentally broke your pen, but no harm, no foul.”
“You parked in my spot for a minute, but no harm, no foul.”
“We missed the first bus, but the second one is here: no harm, no foul.”
“You arrived ten minutes late, but since the meeting had not started yet, no harm, no foul.”
“I forgot to bring the snacks I promised, but since everyone else brought plenty of food, no harm, no foul.”
“The waiter brought me the wrong drink, but I liked it anyway, so I told him no harm, no foul.”
“You sent the email to the wrong person, but they deleted it without reading the attachment, so no harm, no foul.”
“Although the clerk processed the paperwork incorrectly, the error was caught immediately, so the manager declared no harm, no foul.”
From informal sports, in which a foul is a formal violation of the rules. The phrase suggests that if an infraction results in no material injury or disadvantage, it may be treated as though it had not occurred.
Last updated August 10, 2026