worst comes to worst

English

Alternative forms

• worse comes to worse, worse comes to worst

Etymology

Shortening of "if the worst come to the worst".

Adverb

worse comes to worst

1. (idiomatic) If a possible worst-case scenario actually occurs.
   • H. G. Wells - The War of the Worlds

     "A shell in the pit" said I, "if the worst comes to the worst will kill them all."

2. (idiomatic) If an already bad situation progresses into a catastrophic situation.

   Worst comes to worst, these stock certificates will make fine wallpaper.

Coordinate terms

• push comes to shove

Translations

if a bad situation develops

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 大不了 (cmn) (dàbùliǎo)

• Dutch: in het ergste geval (nl)
• Finnish: pahimmassa tapauksessa (fi)
• French: si le pire devait arriver (fr)
• German: please add this translation if you can

• Hungarian: a legrosszabb esetben (hu), ha minden kötél szakad (hu)
• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Portuguese: na pior das hipóteses (pt)
• Russian: беда не приходит одна (lit: trouble doesn't come alone), пришла беда - отворяй ворота (lit: when trouble comes - open the gate) (proverb)
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can

References