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piangere sul latte versato

Meaning: Waste time regretting something that cannot be changed or undone.

Language: Italian

Literally: to cry over spilled milk

Category: Food & Drink

Origin: Italian peasant culture where wasting dairy was tragic loss; lamenting it afterward was pointless and futile.

More idioms — Food & Drink

  • заморить червячка — To have a light snack or small meal to satisfy hunger temporarily.
  • estar com água na boca — Feel eager anticipation or desire, especially for food or something pleasant.
  • Bir fincan kahvenin kırk yıl hatırı vardır — Sharing coffee creates lasting bonds and social connections that endure for decades.
  • أكل العيش والملح مع شخص — Shared intimate bond or deep friendship forged through shared hardship and simple living…
  • take the biscuit — to be the most outrageous or remarkable thing; to win or excel.
  • give someone the cold shoulder — to deliberately treat someone with indifference or ignore them.

More Italian idioms

  • Prendere due piccioni con una fava — To achieve two goals with a single effort.
  • Avere la botte piena e la moglie ubriaca — To want to have it both ways.
  • Ogni morte di papa — Extremely rarely; once in a blue moon.
  • Avere gli occhi foderati di prosciutto — To be unable to see what is right in front of you.
  • Fare le corna — To ward off bad luck — or to signal that a partner is being unfaithful.
  • Tagliare la testa al toro — To settle a matter decisively, once and for all.

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