"no plan survives contact with the enemy" meaning in All languages combined

See no plan survives contact with the enemy on Wiktionary

Phrase [English]

Audio: En-au-no plan survives contact with the enemy.ogg [Australia] Forms: no battle plan survives contact with the enemy [alternative], no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy [alternative], no plan survives first contact with the enemy [alternative]
Head templates: {{en-head|phr|head=~survive􂀿s􂁀}} no plan survives contact with the enemy
  1. (idiomatic) After a plan against an enemy is drafted, there will be unexpected elements from the opposition that will call for improvisation. Tags: idiomatic
    Sense id: en-no_plan_survives_contact_with_the_enemy-en-phrase-iwFpkxUt
  2. (loosely) Even with a preexisting plan, unexpected circumstances will require one to think on one's feet. Tags: broadly
    Sense id: en-no_plan_survives_contact_with_the_enemy-en-phrase-aUerDH5E Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 22 78 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 9 91 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 8 92

Alternative forms

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "no battle plan survives contact with the enemy",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "no plan survives first contact with the enemy",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "phr",
        "head": "~survive􂀿s􂁀"
      },
      "expansion": "no plan survives contact with the enemy",
      "name": "en-head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "glosses": [
        "After a plan against an enemy is drafted, there will be unexpected elements from the opposition that will call for improvisation."
      ],
      "id": "en-no_plan_survives_contact_with_the_enemy-en-phrase-iwFpkxUt",
      "links": [
        [
          "plan",
          "plan"
        ],
        [
          "enemy",
          "enemy"
        ],
        [
          "draft",
          "draft"
        ],
        [
          "unexpected",
          "unexpected"
        ],
        [
          "element",
          "element"
        ],
        [
          "opposition",
          "opposition"
        ],
        [
          "call for",
          "call for"
        ],
        [
          "improvisation",
          "improvisation"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) After a plan against an enemy is drafted, there will be unexpected elements from the opposition that will call for improvisation."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "22 78",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "9 91",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "8 92",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              2,
              47
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2015, Jeph Jacques, Questionable Content (webcomic), Number 2933: Game Over Man, Game Over:",
          "text": "‹\"No plan survives first contact with the enemy.\" Or with a pretty girl in a sundress.›",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Even with a preexisting plan, unexpected circumstances will require one to think on one's feet."
      ],
      "id": "en-no_plan_survives_contact_with_the_enemy-en-phrase-aUerDH5E",
      "links": [
        [
          "preexisting",
          "preexisting"
        ],
        [
          "plan",
          "plan"
        ],
        [
          "unexpected",
          "unexpected"
        ],
        [
          "circumstance",
          "circumstance"
        ],
        [
          "require",
          "require"
        ],
        [
          "think on one's feet",
          "think on one's feet"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(loosely) Even with a preexisting plan, unexpected circumstances will require one to think on one's feet."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-no plan survives contact with the enemy.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/d8/En-au-no_plan_survives_contact_with_the_enemy.ogg/En-au-no_plan_survives_contact_with_the_enemy.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/En-au-no_plan_survives_contact_with_the_enemy.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "no plan survives contact with the enemy"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English phrases",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "no battle plan survives contact with the enemy",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "no plan survives first contact with the enemy",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "phr",
        "head": "~survive􂀿s􂁀"
      },
      "expansion": "no plan survives contact with the enemy",
      "name": "en-head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "After a plan against an enemy is drafted, there will be unexpected elements from the opposition that will call for improvisation."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "plan",
          "plan"
        ],
        [
          "enemy",
          "enemy"
        ],
        [
          "draft",
          "draft"
        ],
        [
          "unexpected",
          "unexpected"
        ],
        [
          "element",
          "element"
        ],
        [
          "opposition",
          "opposition"
        ],
        [
          "call for",
          "call for"
        ],
        [
          "improvisation",
          "improvisation"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) After a plan against an enemy is drafted, there will be unexpected elements from the opposition that will call for improvisation."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              2,
              47
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2015, Jeph Jacques, Questionable Content (webcomic), Number 2933: Game Over Man, Game Over:",
          "text": "‹\"No plan survives first contact with the enemy.\" Or with a pretty girl in a sundress.›",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Even with a preexisting plan, unexpected circumstances will require one to think on one's feet."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "preexisting",
          "preexisting"
        ],
        [
          "plan",
          "plan"
        ],
        [
          "unexpected",
          "unexpected"
        ],
        [
          "circumstance",
          "circumstance"
        ],
        [
          "require",
          "require"
        ],
        [
          "think on one's feet",
          "think on one's feet"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(loosely) Even with a preexisting plan, unexpected circumstances will require one to think on one's feet."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-no plan survives contact with the enemy.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/d8/En-au-no_plan_survives_contact_with_the_enemy.ogg/En-au-no_plan_survives_contact_with_the_enemy.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/En-au-no_plan_survives_contact_with_the_enemy.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "no plan survives contact with the enemy"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-10-03 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-09-02 using wiktextract (1a05e46 and e3d6d4e). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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