“Cry over spilled milk”in other languages
Waste time regretting something that can't be undone.
English
Italian
Welsh
EnglishItalianWelshSame idea, different pictures
English and Italian share the spilled milk, once a real loss on a farm. The English proverb was already in print in 1659 as “no weeping for shed milk”.
Welsh is blunter: codi pais ar ôl piso, lifting your petticoat after you've already peed. It's less about regret than about acting far too late.
More sayings in other languages
- Cut the Gordian knot
- Dig one's heels in
- Get off scot-free
- Dodge the fare
- Muddy the waters
- Don't push your luck
- Drag someone's name through the mud
- Drive someone up the wall
- A drop in the bucket