victor

proverb The winner is entitled to all of the rewards, bonuses, or benefits of success. (A variation of "to the victor go the spoils.") John won the betting pool, so he gets the whole pot of money from those who paid in. To the victor belong the spoils! A lot of other contestants on the singing competition are well worthy of signing a record deal, but to the victor belong the spoils.

proverb The winner is entitled to all of the rewards, bonuses, or benefits of success. (Also written as "To the victor belong the spoils.") John won the betting pool, so he gets the whole pot of money from those who paid in. To the victor go the spoils! A lot of other contestants on the singing competition are well worthy of signing a record deal, but to the victor go the spoils!

The winner is entitled to all of the rewards, bonuses, or benefits of success. (Also written as "To the victor go/belong the spoils.") John won the betting pool, so he gets the whole pot of money from those who paid in. To the victor, the spoils! A lot of other contestants on the singing competition are well worthy of signing a record deal, but only one can win— and to the victor, the spoils!

Prov. The winners achieve power over people and property. The mayor took office and immediately fired many workers and hired new ones. Everyone said, "To the victors belong the spoils."

The winner gets everything, as in He not only won the tournament but ended up with numerous lucrative endorsements-to the victor belong the spoils . This expression alludes to the spoils system of American politics, whereby the winner of an election gives desirable jobs to party supporters. [First half of 1800s]

People say to the victor, the spoils or to the victor go the spoils to mean that the person who wins a competition, fight, etc. can take everything of value. He believed in the principle of to the victor, the spoils.

Winner gets all. The Roman historians frequently mentioned spolia optima—very best spoils—which actually referred to the personal spoils of the enemy’s general when slain by the opposing commander. The current cliché became popular long after that and was frequently used in connection with the spoils system in American politics (whereby the winning party gives desirable posts to its supporters) by Senators William Marcy (1832), Huey Long (1934), and others. Justice William J. Brennan used it in writing the 1990 U.S. Supreme Court decision against political patronage: “To the victor belong only those spoils that may be constitutionally obtained” (Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois, 88-1872).