Cf. [1942 G. Ciano Diary 9 Sept. (1946) II. 196] La vittoria trova cento padri, e nessuno vuole riconoscere l'insuccesso. Victory has a hundred fathers, and no one acknowledges a failure.
There's an old saying that victory has 100 fathers and defeat is an orphan.
[1961 J. F. Kennedy News Conference 21 Apr. in Public Papers of Presidents of U.S. (1962) 312]
In the aftermath of the impeccably executed aerial attack that initiated the war with Iraq, the old saw that success has many fathers while failure is an orphan comes to mind.
[1991 Washington Times 29 Jan. G1]
In war, it has often been noted, victory has a hundred fathers, but defeat is an orphan.
[2002 Times 11 June 19]
Related to: success
Bibliography of major proverb collections and works cited from modern editions is available here.
