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two wrongs do not make a right

two wrongs do not make a right idiom
A second misdeed or mistake does not cancel the first, as in Don't take his ball just because he took yours—two wrongs do not make a right. This proverbial adage sounds ancient but was first recorded in 1783, as Three wrongs will not make one right.

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.

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