---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A King must win. The rest is dust."
description: "\"“A King must win. The rest is dust.”\" — Joe Abercrombie"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ac/joe-abercrombie-791_dust_a-king-must-win-the-rest-is-dust-2796643_2796643.png"
---

#  A King must win. The rest is dust.

![“A King must win. The rest is dust.” quote by Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ac/joe-abercrombie-791_dust_a-king-must-win-the-rest-is-dust-2796643_2796643.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ac/joe-abercrombie-791_dust_a-king-must-win-the-rest-is-dust-2796643_2796643.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ac/joe-abercrombie-791_dust_a-king-must-win-the-rest-is-dust-2796643_2796643.png)

> ““A King must win. The rest is dust.””

[Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A leader must achieve victory; everything else is insignificant.

**In simple terms:** Winning defines leadership.

Key Takeaway

Prioritize decisive action.

Themes

leadership victory focus

Mood

determined serious

Type

motivational philosophical

When to use this quote

- warfare
- business negotiations
- sports championships

Key Concepts

strategic success military political power

Questions to Reflect On

- What costs are hidden behind a win?
- Is victory always the ultimate goal?

A Different Perspective

Neglects the value of process and ethics.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Dust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dust/) [King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/king/) [King Win](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/king-win-1947749/) [Rest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rest/) [Rest Dust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rest-dust-2590626/) [Win Rest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/win-rest-3219373/)

## Related quotes

> [Everything is trust, all the rest is dust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-lightfoot/everything-is-trust-all-the-rest-is-dust/)

[Gordon Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-lightfoot/)

> [“I am not worthy to be king.” “No man ever is,” she said with a soft smile. “You can only try your best to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-hamm/i-am-not-worthy-to-be-king-no-man-ever-is-she-said-with-a-soft-smile/)

[Emma Hamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-hamm/)

> [If you win, then the rest - being popular - will follow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alessandro-nesta/if-you-win-then-the-rest-being-popular-will-follow/)

[Alessandro Nesta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alessandro-nesta/)

> [If you're the cashier at Burger King, of course you make less than the manager or even the CEO. The issue is whether you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/if-you-re-the-cashier-at-burger-king-of-course-you-make-less-than-the/)

[Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/)

> [Rest in peace, King Kong Bundy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-waltman/rest-in-peace-king-kong-bundy/)

[Sean Waltman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-waltman/)

> [“People were made of nothing so much as dust, and I couldn't see that doctoring all that dust was a bit better than writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/people-were-made-of-nothing-so-much-as-dust-and-i-couldn-t-see-that/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [“Veiled by the dust of its own passing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-rogers/veiled-by-the-dust-of-its-own-passing/)

[Cameron Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-rogers/)

> [She had been dragged in the most humiliating of all dusts, the dust reserved for older women who let themselves be approached, on amorous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/she-had-been-dragged-in-the-most-humiliating-of-all-dusts-the-dust/)

[Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/)

> [We think literature is immortal, but even that decays and ultimately turns to dust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-farren/we-think-literature-is-immortal-but-even-that-decays-and-ultimately/)

[Mick Farren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-farren/)

> [When any civilization is dust and ashes," he said, "art is all that's left over. Images, words, music. Imaginative structures. Meaning—human meaning, that is—is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/when-any-civilization-is-dust-and-ashes-he-said-art-is-all-that-s/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [I assume my stance, and take back the club, low, slowly; at the top, my eyes fog over, and my joints dip and swirl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-assume-my-stance-and-take-back-the-club-low-slowly-at-the-top-my/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [At about 10 o'clock in the morning the sun threw a bright dust-laden bar through one of the side windows and in and out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/at-about-10-o-clock-in-the-morning-the-sun-threw-a-bright-dust-laden/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

> [Wild honey smells of freedom The dust - of sunlight The mouth of a young girl, like a violet But gold - smells of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/wild-honey-smells-of-freedom-the-dust-of-sunlight-the-mouth-of-a/)

[Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/)

> [Mr. Bumpy from Bump in the Night was this funky little guy who lived under the bed and thought eating dust bunnies was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/mr-bumpy-from-bump-in-the-night-was-this-funky-little-guy-who-lived/)

[Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/)

> [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/)

[Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/)

## More by Joe Abercrombie

> [“She shrugged. “I fell. I’m a clumsy fool.” “I know how you feel. I’m such a fool I knocked half my teeth out and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/she-shrugged-i-fell-i-m-a-clumsy-fool-i-know-how-you-feel-i-m-such-a/)

[Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/)

> [Things aren't what they used to be' is the rallying cry of small minds. When men say things used to be better, they invariably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/things-aren-t-what-they-used-to-be-is-the-rallying-cry-of-small-minds/)

[Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/)

> [“Mercy and weakness are the same thing in war, and there's no prize for nice behavior.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/mercy-and-weakness-are-the-same-thing-in-war-and-there-s-no-prize-for/)

[Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/)

> [“The lowly have small ambitions, and are satisfied with small indulgences. They need not get fair treatment. They need only think that they do... ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/the-lowly-have-small-ambitions-and-are-satisfied-with-small/)

[Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/)

> [“What do the dice say?" Dice say nothing. They are dice." Why roll'em, then?" They are dice. What else would I do with them?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/what-do-the-dice-say-dice-say-nothing-they-are-dice-why-roll-em-then/)

[Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/)

> [“You have to realistic about these things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/you-have-to-realistic-about-these-things/)

[Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/)

> [“That was the difference between a hero and a villain, a soldier and a murderer, a victory and a crime. Which side of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/that-was-the-difference-between-a-hero-and-a-villain-a-soldier-and-a/)

[Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/)

> [“Nostalgia was becoming a favoured hobby of his. Strange, how the best moments of our lives we scarcely notice except in looking back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/nostalgia-was-becoming-a-favoured-hobby-of-his-strange-how-the-best/)

[Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/)

> [“The only difference between war and murder is the number of dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/the-only-difference-between-war-and-murder-is-the-number-of-dead/)

[Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/)

> [Names turned over by time, like the plough turning the soil. Bringing up the new while the old were buried in the mud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/names-turned-over-by-time-like-the-plough-turning-the-soil-bringing/)

[Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/)

> [“Knives,’ muttered Calder, ‘and threats, and bribes, and war?’ Bayaz’ eyes shone with the lamplight. ‘Yes?’ ‘What kind of a fucking wizard are you?’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/knives-muttered-calder-and-threats-and-bribes-and-war-bayaz-eyes/)

[Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/)

> [“Straining and straining, getting nowhere, but unable to stop pushing in case the rock should fall and crush him. Meanwhile, arrogant bastards who were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/straining-and-straining-getting-nowhere-but-unable-to-stop-pushing-in/)

[Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/)

> [“Yarvi: 'If we had known the hardship of it, we might have chosen another.' Shidwala: 'So it is with many choices.' Yarvi: 'All we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/yarvi-if-we-had-known-the-hardship-of-it-we-might-have-chosen-another/)

[Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/)

> [Sometimes men change for the better. Sometimes men change for the worse. And often, very often, given time and opportunity . . .’ He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/sometimes-men-change-for-the-better-sometimes-men-change-for-the/)

[Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/)

> [“A bitter ending' said Yarvi. 'Many sweet stories have them', said Jaud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/a-bitter-ending-said-yarvi-many-sweet-stories-have-them-said-jaud/)

[Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/)

[Explore all 364 Joe Abercrombie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/)

## More Dust quotes

> [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/)

[Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/)

> [“Veiled by the dust of its own passing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-rogers/veiled-by-the-dust-of-its-own-passing/)

[Cameron Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-rogers/)

> [She had been dragged in the most humiliating of all dusts, the dust reserved for older women who let themselves be approached, on amorous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/she-had-been-dragged-in-the-most-humiliating-of-all-dusts-the-dust/)

[Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/)

> [We think literature is immortal, but even that decays and ultimately turns to dust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-farren/we-think-literature-is-immortal-but-even-that-decays-and-ultimately/)

[Mick Farren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-farren/)

> [Wild honey smells of freedom The dust - of sunlight The mouth of a young girl, like a violet But gold - smells of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/wild-honey-smells-of-freedom-the-dust-of-sunlight-the-mouth-of-a/)

[Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/)

> [“People were made of nothing so much as dust, and I couldn't see that doctoring all that dust was a bit better than writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/people-were-made-of-nothing-so-much-as-dust-and-i-couldn-t-see-that/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [Mr. Bumpy from Bump in the Night was this funky little guy who lived under the bed and thought eating dust bunnies was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/mr-bumpy-from-bump-in-the-night-was-this-funky-little-guy-who-lived/)

[Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/)

> [At about 10 o'clock in the morning the sun threw a bright dust-laden bar through one of the side windows and in and out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/at-about-10-o-clock-in-the-morning-the-sun-threw-a-bright-dust-laden/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

> [I assume my stance, and take back the club, low, slowly; at the top, my eyes fog over, and my joints dip and swirl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-assume-my-stance-and-take-back-the-club-low-slowly-at-the-top-my/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [When any civilization is dust and ashes," he said, "art is all that's left over. Images, words, music. Imaginative structures. Meaning—human meaning, that is—is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/when-any-civilization-is-dust-and-ashes-he-said-art-is-all-that-s/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [When a man is not wanted in the village, he is always accused of raising dust even when he falls in a pool of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/when-a-man-is-not-wanted-in-the-village-he-is-always-accused-of/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/gatsby-turned-out-all-right-at-the-end-it-is-what-preyed-on-gatsby/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [I'm not a prophet, but I always thought it was natural for dictatorships to fall. I remember in 1989, two months before the fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-not-a-prophet-but-i-always-thought-it-was-natural-for/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [Passing beauties are only the fugitive reflections of the eternal. All beauty alters and all life melts away; in short, everything passes with marvelous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliphas-levi/passing-beauties-are-only-the-fugitive-reflections-of-the-eternal-all/)

[Eliphas Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliphas-levi/)

> [The trees are white with dust, that o'er their sleep Wave their broad curtains in the south-wind's breath, While underneath such leafy tents they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/the-trees-are-white-with-dust-that-o-er-their-sleep-wave-their-broad/)

[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/)

[Browse all 1,783 Dust quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dust/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“A King must win. The rest is dust.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Joe Abercrombie"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/a-king-must-win-the-rest-is-dust/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Dust"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/a-king-must-win-the-rest-is-dust/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ac/joe-abercrombie-791_dust_a-king-must-win-the-rest-is-dust-2796643_2796643.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ac/joe-abercrombie-791_dust_a-king-must-win-the-rest-is-dust-2796643_2796643.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ac/joe-abercrombie-791_dust_a-king-must-win-the-rest-is-dust-2796643_2796643.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“A King must win. The rest is dust.” — Joe Abercrombie",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Joe Abercrombie",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“A King must win. The rest...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/a-king-must-win-the-rest-is-dust/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/a-king-must-win-the-rest-is-dust/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
