Idiom
Water under the bridge
Something that is water under the bridge happened in the past and is no longer worth worrying or arguing about.
How people use it
People most often say it about old arguments, mistakes or hurt feelings that have been forgiven (that fight was years ago; it's all water under the bridge). It usually follows is or it's, and it signals that the speaker wants to move on. It can also simply mean that something is in the past and cannot be changed. In American English, water over the dam means the same thing, though it is less common today.
Also said: water over the dam.
Examples
- Leo and his brother used to fight about the car, but that is water under the bridge now.
- Don't worry about the mix-up last spring; it's all water under the bridge.
- Grace apologized for missing the party, and her cousin said it was water under the bridge.
Where it comes from
Flowing water has long been a picture of time passing: once it slips under a bridge, it never comes back. Writers in the 1800s used versions such as 'much water has flowed under the bridges since then' to say a lot of time had passed. The short form, meaning past events that no longer matter, became common in the early 1900s.
Check yourself
1. If your friend says an old argument is water under the bridge, what does she mean?
Answer: It is forgiven and no longer matters. Water under the bridge means past events that no longer matter, usually ones that have been forgiven.
2. Which sentence uses the idiom correctly?
Answer: We lost the final two years ago, but that is water under the bridge now.. The idiom describes something past and settled. Literal floodwater and a problem saved for later do not fit.
Similar idioms
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