be all things to all men

be all things to all men
be all things to all men
1. To alter one's approach, behaviour, attitude, etc to suit the person one is dealing with
2. To be (usu excessively) affable
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Main Entry: ↑all
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be all things to all men
1. To meet each person on his or her own ground, accommodate oneself to his or her circumstances and outlook (Bible, 1 Corinthians 9.22)
2. (loosely and disparagingly) to keep changing one's opinions, etc, so as to suit one's company
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Main Entry: ↑thing

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be all things to all men/people/ phrase
to please everyone, especially by doing many different things or by changing your behaviour a lot

You have to stop trying to be all things to all people.

Thesaurus: to try hard to please or impress someonesynonym
Main entry: thing

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be all things to all men (or people)
please everyone, typically by regularly altering one's behavior or opinions in order to conform to those of others
■ be able to be interpreted or used differently by different people to their own satisfaction

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

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  • All — All, a. [OE. al, pl. alle, AS. eal, pl. ealle, Northumbrian alle, akin to D. & OHG. al, Ger. all, Icel. allr. Dan. al, Sw. all, Goth. alls; and perh. to Ir. and Gael. uile, W. oll.] 1. The whole quantity, extent, duration, amount, quality, or… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • All the whole — All All, a. [OE. al, pl. alle, AS. eal, pl. ealle, Northumbrian alle, akin to D. & OHG. al, Ger. all, Icel. allr. Dan. al, Sw. all, Goth. alls; and perh. to Ir. and Gael. uile, W. oll.] 1. The whole quantity, extent, duration, amount, quality, or …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • all — adj 1 *whole, entire, total, gross Analogous words: complete, plenary, *full 2 All, every, each, when applied to the individuals of a group, imply inclusion of the entire membership with no exceptions. All is applied to the aggregate of… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • be all things to all men — быть всем для всех (Часто употребляется с намеком на двуличие, политическую хитрость, но может подразумевать нечто более безобидное и вполне понятное: стремление политика, любого человека всем угодить, всем понравиться.) …   Idioms and examples

  • (be) all things to all men — …   Useful english dictionary

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