Let the Chips Fall Where They May
"To accept whatever outcome results from doing the right thing, without trying to control it."
Traced to a specific speech: on 5 June 1880, US Senator Roscoe Conkling nominated Ulysses S. Grant for a third presidential term in Chicago, declaring that Grant "will hew to the line of right, let the chips fall where they may." The "chips" are wood chips, not poker or gambling chips as sometimes assumed, drawn from the image of a woodcutter focused entirely on chopping cleanly and correctly, unconcerned with where the resulting wood chips happen to scatter. Conkling's line was widely quoted afterward and had become a cliche by the mid-20th century.
Myth vs. FactThe 'chips' are frequently assumed to be gambling chips, evoking a card table, but the phrase actually comes from woodcutting: wood chips scattering as a woodsman focuses on the cut itself.
Sources: Roscoe Conkling, nominating speech for Ulysses S. Grant, Chicago (5 June 1880), cited in Merriam-Webster.
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