Word.ws English Dictionary

the law is an ass

the law is an ass proverb: the law, as created by legislators or as administered by the justice system, cannot be relied upon to be sensible or fair.

Proverb

the law is an ass

  1. The law, as created by legislators or as administered by the justice system, cannot be relied upon to be sensible or fair.
    • Ere he shall lose an eye for such a trifle... For doing deeds of nature! I'm ashamed. The law is such an ass.1654, attributed to George Chapman but probably Henry Glapthorne, Revenge for Honour
    • "If the law supposes that," said Mr. Bumble, squeezing his hat emphatically in both hands, "the law is a ass—a idiot."1838, Charles Dickens, chapter 61, in Oliver Twist

Examples of the law is an ass in a sentence

  • I'm not one of those who think the Law is an ass, no, there's a great deal of common sense in the Law of England.1917, Henry De Vere Stacpoole, chapter 29, in The Man Who Lost Himself:
  • Adages become such for a reason: The law is an ass.2013 July 16, Kathleen Parker, “Unanswered questions in Trayvon Martin case”, in Washington Post, retrieved 18 Jul 2014:

Forms of the law is an ass

alternative formthe law is a ass
alternative misconstructionthe law is an arse

Questions about the law is an ass

What does the law is an ass mean?
The law is an ass means the law, as created by legislators or as administered by the justice system, cannot be relied upon to be sensible or fair.
How do you use the law is an ass in a sentence?
I'm not one of those who think the Law is an ass, no, there's a great deal of common sense in the Law of England.
What part of speech is the law is an ass?
The law is an ass is a proverb.

Words near the law is an ass in the dictionary

  1. the last I heard
  2. the last of pea-time
  3. the latchstring is out
  4. the law is a ass
  5. the law is an arse
  6. the law is an ass
  7. the laws of thermodynamics
  8. the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing
  9. the length of the Flemington straight
  10. The Lick
  11. the life out of

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: the law is an ass (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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