all things to all men, to be

To be liked or appreciated by everyone (usually after overt efforts to please them). The phrase likely originated in the Bible. I know you want your students to like you, but you have to discipline them when they misbehave. You can't be all things to all men. I don't trust that candidate—he is trying to be all things to all men and still hasn't committed to a clear course of action.

If someone or something is trying to be all things to all men, they are trying to please everyone, and this is impossible. The film tries to be all things to all men — comedy, romance, fantasy, and satire. Note: You can also say that someone tries to be all things to all people. I realised I had a big problem. I wanted to be all things to all people. Note: This expression is used to show disapproval.

To adapt so as to satisfy everyone. The term appears in the New Testament of the Bible, in the first book of Corinthians (9:22): “I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” Today it is more often used negatively—that is, one cannot be all things to all men, although political candidates in particular continue to try. Eric Partridge believed it was a cliché by the nineteenth century.