cry over spilt milk

English

Alternative forms

• cry over spilled milk

Pronunciation

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

Verb

cry over spilt milk (third-person singular simple present cries over spilt milk, present participle crying over spilt milk, simple past and past participle cried over spilt milk)

1. To worry about unfortunate events which have already happened and which cannot be changed.
   • [1738, Jonathan Swift, A Complete Collection of Genteel and Ingenious Conversation:

     'Tis a Folly to cry for spilt Milk.]

Usage notes

• Usually found as a negative imperative: don't cry over spilt milk or there's no use crying over spilt milk.

Translations

to worry about unfortunate events which have already happened

• Arabic: لَا تَبْكِ عَلَى اَلْحَلِيب اَلْمَسْكُوب (lā tabki ʕalā l-ḥalīb al-maskūb)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 覆水難收／覆水难收 (fùshuǐnánshōu), ^{(please verify)} 覆水难收 (zh) (fùshuǐnánshōu), (the timber has been turned into a boat already) ^{(please verify)} 木已成舟 (zh) (mùyǐchéngzhōu)

• Czech: plakat nad rozlitým mlékem
• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} gedane zaken nemen geen keer
• Finnish: itkeä maahan kaatunutta maitoa
• French: pleurer sur le lait renversé
• German: ^{(please verify)} hin ist hin
• Hebrew: ^{(please verify)} אין בוכים על חלב שנשפך (he)
• Hungarian: késő bánat ebgondolat (hu), eső után köpönyeg (hu), veszett fejsze nyele
• Icelandic: ^{(please verify)} ekki er hægt að sjá við öllum leka
• Indonesian: nasi sudah menjadi bubur
• Irish: ^{(please verify)} níl maith sa seanchas nuair a bhíos an anachain déanta
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: non piangere sul latte versato, inutile piangere sul latte versato
• Japanese: 覆水盆に返らず (ja) (ふくすいぼんにかえらず, fukusui bon ni kaerazu)
• Malay:

  Jawi: ^{(please verify)} ناسي سوده منجادي بوبور

  Rumi: ^{(please verify)} nasi sudah menjadi bubur

• Norwegian: ^{(please verify)} ikke gråt over spilt melk
• Polish: płakać nad rozlanym mlekiem (pl)
• Portuguese: chorar sobre o leite derramado, chorar sobre leite derramado
• Russian: ^{(please verify)} о проли́том молоке́ не пла́чут (o prolítom moloké ne pláčut)
• Spanish: llorar sobre la leche derramada, llorar por la leche derramada, a lo hecho, pecho
• Swedish: gråta över spilld mjölk
• Vietnamese: tiếc (vi)

See also

• what's done is done

References

• Gregory Y. Titelman, Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings, 1996, →ISBN, p. 63.