every man for himself

English

Phrase

every man for himself

An expression of indifference, that everyone should forget about comradeship and save themselves.
- Men, you have done your full duty. You can do no more. Abandon your cabin. Now it's every man for himself. (Titanic Captain Smith addressing crewmen shortly before the vessel's sinking in 1912—Lord, Walter, A Night to Remember, p. 89)

Translations

forget about comradeship; save yourselves!

Arabic: كُلّ رَجُل لِنَفْسِهِ‎ (kull rajul linafsihi)
Catalan: campi qui pugui
Chinese:
Mandarin: 人各為己, 人各为己 (rén gè wèi jǐ), 各人自掃門前雪, 各人自扫门前雪 (gèrén zì sǎo ménqiánxuě)
Czech: každý sám za sebe
Dutch: ieder voor zich
Finnish: pelastukoon ken voi
French: chacun pour soi (fr); sauve qui peut (fr)

German: jeder ist sich selbst der Nächste
Italian: ognun per sé, il primo prossimo è sé medesimo
Latin: proximus egomet mihi
Portuguese: salve-se quem puder, cada um sabe de si
Russian: ка́ждый са́м за́ себя́ (káždyj sám zá sebjá)
Spanish: sálvese quien pueda (es), cada palo que aguante su vela
Swedish: var och en för sig, rädda sig den som kan

Adjective

every-man-for-himself (not comparable)

selfish
I quit showbusiness because there was too much of an every-man-for-himself attitude going on

There was an every-man-for-himself attitude during the time of the Great Depression in 1930s America.

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