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all for the best

all for the best idiom

Also, for the best. Best in the long run, despite appearances to the contrary. It is often a response to an unhappy outcome, as in They had to sell their business, but since they weren't making money it's probably for the best, or The dress had been sold when she went back, but since it was a little too tight it's all for the best. [Late 1300s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.