Explaining "Hindsight is always twenty-twenty"

Reviewed and edited by

Lloyd Cooper 28/01/2025, 11:47

English.me team member

What does it mean?

The phrase "Hindsight is always twenty-twenty" means that it's easy to understand what you should have done after something has happened. In other words, people have perfect clarity about past events, but cannot predict the future.

Tone

Reflective and slightly ironic

Origin

The expression combines "hindsight", which refers to the understanding of a situation only after it has occurred, with "twenty-twenty", a term used to describe normal visual acuity (perfect vision) measured at a distance of 20 feet. The phrase suggests that looking back, events seem clear and obvious, just like someone with 20/20 vision can see clearly.

Examples of usage

He regretted not buying stocks earlier, but hindsight is always twenty-twenty.
They realized they should have prepared more for the storm; hindsight is always 20/20.
I shouldn't have said those things, but hindsight is always twenty-twenty.