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.

   • 1833, Mr. Warburton, The Sportsman's Cabinet, and Town and Country Magazine, volumes 1-2, page 376:

     The Willington Mare, when she started so fast, Ah! we little thought then that the race was her last: Accurst be the stake that was stained with her blood! But, why cry for spilt milk?—May the next be as good.

   • 1985, "Weird Al" Yankovic (lyrics and music), “Dare to Be Stupid”, in Dare to Be Stupid, performed by "Weird Al" Yankovic:

     There's no more time for crying over spilled milk
     Now it's time for crying in your beer

   • 2016, Barbara Hannay, The Grazier's Wife‎^[1], Penguin Group Australia, →ISBN:

     Don't you bloody dare cry over spilt milk. You only have yourself to blame.

Usage notes

• Usually found as a negative imperative: don't cry over spilt milk or there's no point 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: 吃後悔藥 / 吃后悔药 (chī hòuhuǐyào)

• Czech: plakat nad rozlitým mlékem (cs)
• Danish: græde over spildt mælk
• Finnish: itkeä maahan kaatunutta maitoa
• French: pleurer sur le lait renversé
• Hebrew: בכה על חלב שנשפך (bakhá al khaláv shenishpákh)
• Hungarian: késő bánat ebgondolat (hu), eső után köpönyeg (hu), veszett fejsze nyele (hu)
• 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
• Italian: non piangere sul latte versato, inutile piangere sul latte versato
• Japanese: ^{(please verify)} 死しんだ子この年としを数かぞえる (shinda ko no toshi o kazoeru, literally “counting the years of a dead child”)
• 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, chorar pelo 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: ^{(please verify)} tiếc (vi)

See also

• what's done is done, spilt milk

References

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