Meaning & use
no harm no foul
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Meanings
phrasefixed phraseinformal
Said to mean that a mistake or rule-breaking can be forgiven because nobody was hurt or affected by it.
Grammar: A complete saying, used alone as a comment: 'No harm, no foul.'
Patterns
- No harm, no foul.
You borrowed my pen without asking, but you returned it, so no harm no foul.
The ball touched my foot, but it didn't change the play, so no harm no foul.
He sent the email twice by mistake; no harm no foul.
phrasefixed phrasesport
In basketball and other sports, the principle that contact is not penalized unless it disadvantages a player.
Grammar: In sport it refers to the referee's judgment about whether a foul occurred.
Patterns
- a no harm, no foul play
The referee waved play on because it was no harm no foul.
Many players expect a no harm no foul approach in pickup games.
The coach explained the no harm no foul rule to the new referees.
Common combinations
- no harm no foul attitude
- The team had a no harm no foul attitude about the missed practice.
- say no harm no foul
- She smiled and said no harm no foul.
- a no harm no foul situation
- It was a no harm no foul situation, so nobody complained.
- call it no harm no foul
- I'll call it no harm no foul this time.
- basically no harm no foul
- It was basically no harm no foul after the apology.
Synonyms and how they differ
- no big deal
- No big deal is more general and is not tied to the idea that nothing bad actually happened.
- all's well that ends well
- This proverb stresses a good outcome rather than the lack of damage.
- don't worry about it
- Don't worry about it is a direct reassurance, whereas no harm no foul explains why forgiveness is fair.
Word family
Commonly confused: no harm no foul or fowl?
no harm no foul vs fowl
Fowl means a bird such as a chicken, and is spelled differently from foul, the rule-breaking act in this phrase.
Practice
My friend spilled water on my notes, but they dried fine. I said, '___.'
Choose one answer.
No harm, no foul fits because nothing was damaged. A blessing in disguise is tempting but means a bad thing that turns out good.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “no harm no foul”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.