get the better of

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get the better of (third-person singular simple present gets the better of, present participle getting the better of, simple past got the better of, past participle (UK) got the better of or (US) gotten the better of)

1. (transitive, idiomatic) To overwhelm or overcome

   Synonyms: defeat, overpower, better

   • 1859, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter 28, in Adam Bede […], volumes (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC:

     Adam said, "My temper got the better of me, and I said things as wasn't true."

   • 1922 February, James Joyce, “[16]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:

     Though this sort of thing went on every other night or very near it still Stephen's feelings got the better of him in a sense though he knew that Corley's brandnew rigmarole on a par with the others was hardly deserving of much credence.

   • 2005 July 8, Eric Pfanner, “With Characteristic Fortitude, Britons Carry On”, in New York Times‎, retrieved September 2, 2008:

     Many people returned to work a bit anxious, they acknowledged, but grimly determined not to let terrorists get the better of them.

   • 2021 May 29, Phil McNulty, “Manchester City 0-1 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport‎:

     Thomas Tuchel got the better of his Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola for the third time since succeeding sacked Frank Lampard in January to bring European club football's biggest prize back to Stamford Bridge for the first time since 2012.

2. (transitive, idiomatic) To trick or con.
3. (transitive, idiomatic) To gain an advantage over.

   He got the better of him early in the match, but ended up losing.

• get the best of

• (gain an advantage): have the better of