enough is enough

enough is enough

English

WOTD – 1 March 2023

Etymology

Possibly a calque of Yiddish גענוג איז גענוג‎ (genug iz genug).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪˌnʌf‿ɪz ɪˈnʌf/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /iˌnʌf‿ɪz iˈnʌf/, /ə-/
• Rhymes: -ʌf

Phrase

enough is enough

1. One should be satisfied; nothing additional is required.

   Synonym: enough is as good as a feast

   • 1546, John Heywood, chapter XI, in Julian Sharman, editor, The Proverbs of John Heywood. […], London: George Bell and Sons, […], published 1874, OCLC 5058340, part II, page 173:

     Here is enough, I am satisfied, (sayd he). / Since enough is enough, (sayd I), here may we / With that one word take end good, as may be geast: / For folke say, enough is as good as a feast.

   • 1834, Robert Southey, “Chapter XX. P.I. How to Make Gold.”, in The Doctor, &c., volume I, London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longman, OCLC 1179713, page 199:

     Learning is better than house or land. As for money, enough is enough; no man can enjoy more; and the less he can be contented with the wiser and better he is likely to be.

   • 1920, Thornton W[aldo] Burgess, “A Dinner for Two”, in Old Granny Fox, New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, OCLC 2429259, page 173:

     "Are n't you going to get any more while we have the chance?" grumbled Reddy. "Enough is enough," retorted Granny.

   • 1987 November 11, “Reagan on dollar fall: ‘Enough is enough’”, in Southeast Missourian, volume 83, number 342, Cape Girardeau, Mo.: Rust Communications, ISSN 0746-4452, OCLC 10049209, page 1, column 3:

     Other administration officials have hinted the dollar may have to fall further, but President [Ronald] Reagan says enough is enough. "We're not doing anything to bring it down," Reagan said Tuesday in comments that sparked a slight dollar rally. "I don't look for a further decline, don't want a further decline from where it is right now."

2. Especially as an expression of exasperation: the limit of patience or tolerance has been reached.

   Synonym: enough is too much

   • 1961 January 4, Lee Mortimer, “Why not sever all Cuban ties?”, in Glen O. Long, editor, Spartanburg Herald-Journal, volume 71, number 2, Spartanburg, S.C.: Phil Buchheit, ISSN 0740-4743, OCLC 9951368, page 4, column 2:

     With every new indignity served upon the United States by the fanatical Fidel Castro comes an immediate, and lasting, impulse to declare that enough is enough.

   • 1994 January 22, Richard L. Berke, “G.O.P. sees crime as a major issue”, in The New York Times‎, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, ISSN 0362-4331, OCLC 971436363, archived from the original on 2022-09-11, section 1, page 9:

     “I want a crime bill that grabs violent criminals by the throat,” Mr. [Phil] Gramm said. […] “I am for rehabilitation. But there reaches a point where you've got to say, ‘Enough is enough.’”

   • 2013 September 25, Desmond Tutu, “Every Child Deserves a Quality Education”, in Forbes‎, New York, N.Y.: Forbes, Inc., ISSN 0015-6914, OCLC 1088420850, archived from the original on 2022-09-11:

     What message are we sending our children? That they are not worthy of a basic & simple infrastructure. That they cannot be allowed the freedom to dream of a better way of learning, and a better way of life? […] Enough is enough! It is time for decisive leadership and immediate action.

   • 2022 September 11, Lee Hsin-fang; Jonathan Chin, “Letter calls for Taiwan’s UN inclusion”, in Taipei Times‎, Taipei, Taiwan: The Liberty Times Group, ISSN 1563-9525, OCLC 464696902, archived from the original on 2022-09-11, page 1:

     The "continued exclusion of Taiwan from the UN system is not only unwise, unjust and unfair, but also is a blatant violation of the principles of universality and self-determination as enshrined in the UN Charter, and must be rectified immediately," they [organizations representing overseas Taiwanese communities] said. "The time is now for the United Nations and the rest of the world to jointly stand up against China and its lawless and out-of-control bullying of Taiwan," they said, adding: "Enough is Enough."

Translations

one should be satisfied; nothing additional is required

Finnish: liika on liikaa Hungarian: ennyi elég (volt) Italian: nulla da aggiungere Polish: wystarczy Portuguese: já é o suficiente

limit of patience or tolerance has been reached

Arabic: بَلَغَ السَّيْلُ الزُّبَى‎ (balaḡa s-saylu z-zubā), طَفَحَ الْكَيْلُ‎ (ṭafaḥa l-kaylu) Chinese: Mandarin: 適可而止／适可而止 (zh) (shìkě'érzhǐ) Finnish: liika on liikaa French: ça commence à bien faire (fr), trop c'est trop (fr) German: das Maß ist voll (de), jetzt schlägt's dreizehn Hungarian: ami sok, az sok Italian: quando è troppo è troppo Polish: miarka się przebrała Portuguese: basta! (pt), já basta!, já chega! Spanish: ya basta, ya es suficiente Yiddish: גענוג איז גענוג‎ (genug iz genug)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Czech: (please verify) čeho je moc, toho je příliš, (please verify) co je moc, to je moc Malay: Rumi: (please verify) sudah cukup, cukuplah Jawi: (please verify) سوده چوکوڤ, چوکوڤله‎ Russian: (please verify) хоро́шенького понемно́жку (ru) (xoróšenʹkovo ponemnóžku)

Further reading

• Enough Is Enough (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “enough is enough, phrase” under “enough, adj., pron., and n., and adv.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2022.
• “enough is enough, phrase”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “enough is enough”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary