Idiom
no plan survives contact with the enemy
Meaning
After a plan against an enemy is drafted, there will be unexpected elements from the opposition that will call for improvisation.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“We made a plan, but no plan survives contact with the enemy.”
“We prepared for the presentation, but the client asked unexpected questions because no plan survives contact with the enemy.”
“The general knew that despite their meticulous tactical preparations, no plan survives contact with the enemy once the chaos of the battlefield begins.”
Examples
simple
“We made a plan, but no plan survives contact with the enemy.”
contextual
“We prepared for the presentation, but the client asked unexpected questions because no plan survives contact with the enemy.”
complex
“The general knew that despite their meticulous tactical preparations, no plan survives contact with the enemy once the chaos of the battlefield begins.”
Key words
Related idioms
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