if/when all else fails
idiom
: if/when everything else one has attempted has failed
He only bothers to read the directions if/when all else fails.
Examples of if/when all else fails in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
And hey, if all else fails, just give it to Durant, right?
—
Kelly Iko, New York Times, 24 July 2025
Perhaps that’s why Hook’s japes hold a kernel of wisdom; the knowledge that when all else fails, finding the fun in absurd chaos (say, on a quiet London street) is an apt response to a chaotic world.
—Daniel Seifert, JSTOR Daily, 16 July 2025
And, if all else fails, there’s nothing wrong with a classic pair of Havaianas.
—Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 11 June 2025
And if all else fails for the veterans, the Giants have every right to trot out their first-round draft selection, Jaxson Dart.
—Justin Grasso, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for if/when all else fails
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Kelly Iko, New York Times, 24 July 2025
Perhaps that’s why Hook’s japes hold a kernel of wisdom; the knowledge that when all else fails, finding the fun in absurd chaos (say, on a quiet London street) is an apt response to a chaotic world.
—Daniel Seifert, JSTOR Daily, 16 July 2025
And, if all else fails, there’s nothing wrong with a classic pair of Havaianas.
—Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 11 June 2025
And if all else fails for the veterans, the Giants have every right to trot out their first-round draft selection, Jaxson Dart.
—Justin Grasso, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for if/when all else fails
Cite this Entry
“If/when all else fails.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/if%2Fwhen%20all%20else%20fails. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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