rob Peter to pay Paul

rob Peter to pay Paul
rob Peter to pay Paul
1. To deprive one person in order to satisfy another
2. To raise a loan to pay off a debt
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Main Entry: ↑rob

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rob Peter to pay Paul phrase
to take money that was intended for one particular thing and spend it on something else
Thesaurus: to spend or to pay moneysynonym
Main entry: rob

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take something away from one person to pay another, leaving the former at a disadvantage; discharge one debt only to incur another
Origin:
probably with reference to the apostles Peter and Paul; the allusion is uncertain, the phrase often showing variations such as ‘unclothe Peter and clothe Paul’, ‘borrow from Peter ...’, etc

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rob Peter to pay Paul
: to take money that was meant for one person or thing and use it to pay someone else or to pay for something else

She was trying to keep her creditors at bay by robbing Peter to pay Paul. [=using one credit card to make the payments on another credit card]

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Main Entry: ↑rob

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rob ˌPeter to pay ˈPaul idiom
(saying) to borrow money from one person to pay back what you owe to another person; to take money from one thing to use for sth else
Main entry: ↑robidiom

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • rob Peter to pay Paul — {v. phr.} To change one duty or need for another; take from one person or thing to pay another. * /Bill owed Sam a dollar, so he borrowed another from Joe to pay Sam back. He robbed Peter to pay Paul./ * /Trying to study a lesson for one class… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • rob Peter to pay Paul — {v. phr.} To change one duty or need for another; take from one person or thing to pay another. * /Bill owed Sam a dollar, so he borrowed another from Joe to pay Sam back. He robbed Peter to pay Paul./ * /Trying to study a lesson for one class… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • rob peter to pay paul — If you rob Peter to pay Paul, you try to solve one problem, but create another in doing so, often through short term planning …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • rob Peter to pay Paul — ► rob Peter to pay Paul deprive one person of something in order to pay another. [ORIGIN: probably with reference to the saints and apostles Peter and Paul; the allusion is uncertain.] Main Entry: ↑rob …   English terms dictionary

  • rob Peter to pay Paul —    If you rob Peter to pay Paul, you try to solve one problem, but create another in doing so, often through short term planning.   (Dorking School Dictionary)    ***    If someone robs Peter to pay Paul, they pay one debt with money borrowed… …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

  • rob Peter to pay Paul — move money from one part of a budget to another    If we use grocery money to buy gas, we rob Peter to pay Paul …   English idioms

  • Rob Peter to pay Paul —   If you rob Peter to pay Paul, you try to solve one problem, but create another in doing so, often through short term planning …   Dictionary of English idioms

  • rob\ Peter\ to\ pay\ Paul — v. phr. To change one duty or need for another; take from one person or thing to pay another. Bill owed Sam a dollar, so he borrowed another from Joe to pay Sam back. He robbed Peter to pay Paul. Trying to study a lesson for one class during… …   Словарь американских идиом

  • rob Peter to pay Paul — take from one person or thing to pay another When the government began to take money from education to pay for the medical system it was like robbing Peter to pay Paul …   Idioms and examples

  • rob Peter to pay Paul — verb To use resources that legitimately belong to or are needed by one party in order to satisfy a legitimate need of another party, especially within the same organization or group; to solve a problem in a way that makes another problem worse,… …   Wiktionary

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