ProverbWisdomItalian origin

Cosa fatta capo ha

Meaning: What's done is done; now act on it.

Literally: A thing done is done

Example: “Ormai abbiamo deciso: cosa fatta capo ha.” — We've decided now: what's done is done.

Equivalents in English, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, and 4 more languages

  • English: Don't cry over spilled milk
  • French: Ce qui est fait est fait (literally: What is done is done)
  • Spanish: A lo hecho, pecho (literally: To what is done, chest)
  • Japanese: 覆水盆に返らず (Fukusui bon ni kaerazu) (literally: Spilled water doesn't return to the basin)
  • German: Geschehen ist geschehen (literally: What has happened has happened)
  • Dutch: Gedane zaken nemen geen keer (literally: Done things don't turn back)
  • Polish: Co się stało, to się nie odstanie (literally: What has happened can't un-happen)
  • Chinese: 覆水难收 (Fù shuǐ nán shōu) (literally: Spilled water is hard to gather back)
  • Turkish: Geçmişe mazi, yenmişe kuzu derler (literally: The past is past, and what's eaten is called lamb)

Origin: Dante put it in the mouth of Mosca dei Lamberti in the Inferno (canto 28): his advice to kill Buondelmonte in 1216, capo ha cosa fatta, was blamed for starting the feuds of Guelphs and Ghibellines in Florence.

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