# What does ‘two wrongs don't make a right’ mean?

To “two wrongs don't make a right” means to responding to wrongdoing with wrongdoing is not justified. Brewer's lists this among the classic English proverbs of ethics.

## What it means

- Brewer's lists this among the classic English proverbs of ethics.

## Action steps

1. Standard rebuke in disputes.
2. Example: Don't retaliate — two wrongs don't make a right.

## Sources

- [Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) — Internet Archive scan](https://archive.org/details/brewers-dictionary-of-phrase-and-fable)

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