What does water under the bridge mean

Dictionary says the phrase originated in , but that its modern English usage began in the late s. The Idioms states that it originated in the late s. The phrase water under the bridge can be used in a variety of circumstances. It is considered a polite phrase, so one does not have to worry about it being too casual for a certain situation. In this first example, two friends are meeting up after a long time of not seeing each other.

Here, the second friend uses the phrase water under the bridge to mean that their childish argument is in the past and no longer matters to them, and that they wish to start anew. In this second example, one partner cheated on the other and is begging for forgiveness. Here, the second partner uses water under the bridge to mean that the actions the first partner committed cannot be changed or altered. In the third example, two high school sports rivals from different schools end up going to the same college.

Things are a bit awkward between them. Can we call it water under the bridge and move on? Statistics for water under the bridge Look-up Popularity. Style: MLA. Get Word of the Day daily email! Test Your Vocabulary. Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words? Love words? Either way, a lovely fantasy. I see an Etruscan shepherd, stretched out on his side near a stream, sheep in the background, him pining over a lost love.

Add your thoughts Cancel reply. Example: The soldier bit the dust after a very long fight and even at that he managed to take many enemy soldiers with him.

Read on. We get along fine. Active Oldest Votes. Improve this answer. This is really cool. The first line of the chorus begins We kissed and love flowed thru my heart like the water under the bridge Based only on this snippet, in vain I tried to find the lyrics online , it appears the meaning of the idiom was not familiar at the time.

But it might explain its appearance in In you first example "we kissed The lyricist played with the usual meaning here. The first line of the song was "Time passes by, motionless as in a dream". This suggests that the lyricist was familiar with the usual meaning.

There are definitely earlier instances I could find one from , and there are a number in the early s JoBedard I agree, that's why I said: "it appears the meaning of this idiom was not familiar at the time" and then gave a second instance where the meaning was clear.

I suspected that water represents the passage of time. What, then, does the bridge suggest? A fixed point against which we perceive that passing? JeromyFrench We commonly associate water flowing with rivers, and where there are rivers there are usually bridges.

Water under the bridge is almost a fixed phrase, or chunk of language. You also have the expression a bridge over water.