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abandon hope, all ye who enter here

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abandon hope, all ye who enter here

A message warning one about a hopeless situation from which there is no return. The Italian version of this phrase appears in Dante's Divine Comedy as the inscription on the entrance to Hell. The phrase is most often used humorously. I'll never forget my first day as an intern and the sign above my cubicle that said, "Abandon all hope, all ye who enter here."

See also: abandon, all, enter, here, who, ye

Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.

Prov. If you come in, be prepared for the worst. (Describes a hopeless situation or one somehow similar to hell. Often used jocularly. This is the English translation of the words on the gate of Hell in Dante's Inferno.) This is our cafeteria. Abandon hope, all ye who enter here!

See also: abandon, all, enter, here, who, ye