In short, “water
under the bridge”
means that a situation has happened in the past, and it is now forgotten and no
longer important. Like the story above,
maybe two people had a disagreement about something in the past, but it is no
longer important, and one person might say to the other, “that’s water under the bridge” - all
is forgiven, it was such a long time ago, we don’t need
to dwell on it anymore. Also, it means,
what has happened can’t be
undone and there is no point worrying about it anymore.
When you understand how this idiom is used, you can see some of the logic behind the meaning. With water constantly flowing out to the sea, it is never still (like time) and the water has already flowed under the bridge and will not return to that point.
The present version of this idiom probably comes from an earlier expression, “there’s been a lot of water under the bridge since . . .” which was used to express that a lot of time had passed since a particular event had occurred. The shorter version, “water under the bridge” has been used since the late 1700s or early 1800s.
“When we are mastering another language, we make lots of mistakes, but in the end, it’s all water under the bridge.”
I’m not gonna try to defend, or undo what’s been done. All I could say about whatever’s been done, it’s been done, and it’s water under the bridge. I have no regrets of my life. (Ike Turner)
. . . and of course, Adele gives this idiom another twist, with the lyrics “Our love ain’t water under the bridge,” meaning our love is still important - from her 2015 song – “Water under the bridge.”
When you understand how this idiom is used, you can see some of the logic behind the meaning. With water constantly flowing out to the sea, it is never still (like time) and the water has already flowed under the bridge and will not return to that point.
The present version of this idiom probably comes from an earlier expression, “there’s been a lot of water under the bridge since . . .” which was used to express that a lot of time had passed since a particular event had occurred. The shorter version, “water under the bridge” has been used since the late 1700s or early 1800s.
“When we are mastering another language, we make lots of mistakes, but in the end, it’s all water under the bridge.”
I’m not gonna try to defend, or undo what’s been done. All I could say about whatever’s been done, it’s been done, and it’s water under the bridge. I have no regrets of my life. (Ike Turner)
. . . and of course, Adele gives this idiom another twist, with the lyrics “Our love ain’t water under the bridge,” meaning our love is still important - from her 2015 song – “Water under the bridge.”
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