can't do right for doing wrong

phrase

Be in a situation where any course of action leads to a negative outcome.

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Meanings

phrase
  1. UKBe in a situation where any course of action leads to a negative outcome.

    “Hold your confounded tongue!” he bawled. “You can't do right for doing wrong, can you? No, by G-d! […]

    1971, George MacDonald Fraser, Flash for Freedom!, page 59
    2 more examples

    Insolvency doesn't necessarily happen when a company is doing poorly; quite the contrary, it can happen just as easily when a company is too successful (you see, sometimes you can't do right for doing wrong!).

    2013, Steve Collings, Michael Taillard, Corporate Finance for Dummies, John Wiley & Sons, page 201

    They, like the sufferer, need support, since the emotional demands placed upon them can be very intense. They often feel that they can't do right for doing wrong when trying to offer help to the sufferer.

    2014, Patricia Furness-Smith, chapter 2, in Overcoming Problem Eating: A Practical Guide, Icon Books
Cite this entry
APA

can't do right for doing wrong. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/can't%20do%20right%20for%20doing%20wrong

MLA

“can't do right for doing wrong.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/can't%20do%20right%20for%20doing%20wrong. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “can't do right for doing wrong,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/can't%20do%20right%20for%20doing%20wrong.

Source: can't do right for doing wrong on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.