Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1900-2000
Origin: Edward Murphy (born 1917), U.S. engineer who first thought of it

Murphy's law

 noun
     
Mur‧phy's law [uncountable] informal especially American English
a tendency for bad things to happen whenever it is possible for them to do so - used humorously [= sod's law British English]
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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