Word.ws English Dictionary

orders are orders

orders are orders phrase: used wryly when someone attempts to justify questionable actions by referring to rules, laws or orders from higher up.

Phrase

orders are orders

  1. Used wryly when someone attempts to justify questionable actions by referring to rules, laws or orders from higher up.

Origin of orders are orders

Calque of German Befehl ist Befehl (“order is order”), used as a defence during the Nuremberg trials (see Nuremberg defense).

Questions about orders are orders

What does orders are orders mean?
Orders are orders means used wryly when someone attempts to justify questionable actions by referring to rules, laws or orders from higher up.
What part of speech is orders are orders?
Orders are orders is a phrase.

Words near orders are orders in the dictionary

  1. orderlinesses
  2. orderly
  3. orderpicking
  4. orders
  5. orders about
  6. orders are orders
  7. orders around
  8. orders in
  9. orders in council
  10. Orders of Australia
  11. orders of battle

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: orders are orders (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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