Word.ws English Dictionary

gods may do what cattle may not

gods may do what cattle may not proverb: what is permitted to one important person or group is not permitted to everyone; there is a double standard.

Proverb

gods may do what cattle may not

  1. What is permitted to one important person or group is not permitted to everyone; there is a double standard.
    • For quotations using this term, see Citations:gods may do what cattle may not.

Origin of gods may do what cattle may not

Perhaps a modified calque of quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi.

Questions about gods may do what cattle may not

What does gods may do what cattle may not mean?
Gods may do what cattle may not means what is permitted to one important person or group is not permitted to everyone; there is a double standard.
What part of speech is gods may do what cattle may not?
Gods may do what cattle may not is a proverb.

Words near gods may do what cattle may not in the dictionary

  1. godrooning
  2. godroons
  3. gods
  4. gods bless you
  5. gods damn
  6. gods may do what cattle may not
  7. gods that failed
  8. gods willing
  9. gods-fearing
  10. godsake
  11. godsakes

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: gods may do what cattle may not (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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