sauve qui peut

/ sov ki pø /

noun

1. a state of panic or disorder; rout

Word History and Origins

Origin of sauve qui peut¹

literally: save (himself) who can

Example Sentences

If we've gotten to the point where inequality deepens, and crises with the rest of the world deepen, it becomes everyone for himself, sauve qui peut.

From Salon

Sauve qui peut; fear makes us bold.

From The Guardian

But the affair is tacked on to the end of the book and Turney hesitates to pursue its implications – that the morally redemptive story of Scott's death was stage-managed to obscure a competing narrative of sauve qui peut.

From The Guardian

There was no sauve qui peut, no throwing away of arms, as there would have been under similar desperate circumstances by European troops.

From Project Gutenberg

It was a case of “Sauve qui peut!” with a vengeance: a disorderly and disgraceful scramble for the best places and an utter and total disregard for the wants of others.

From Project Gutenberg