APAD: It's too little too late

Meaning:

The action came too late, or was too limited, to be effective

 

Background:

 

This saying appears to have originated in the USA in 1935 and is attributed to

historian Allan Nevins (1890-1971) who wrote in the May 1935 issue of Current

History,

 

    "The former allies have blundered in the past by offering Germany too

    little, and offering that too late, until finally Nazi Germany had become a

    menace to all mankind."

 

English Statesman David Lloyd George (1863-1945) is also known to have expressed

a similar sentiment: "It is always too late, or to little, or both," but it's

not clear whether this was before or after Nevins.

 

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It was great to learn where the phrase was first used!

 

History is written by the victors. At least Churchill acknolwedged that. Books

like "The Remains of the Day" would have to undergo heavy revisions, if they

were to see the light of the day at all, had the Nazis won.