we are where we are
English
[edit]Phrase
[edit]- (idiomatic) acknowledging the shortcomings of the present situation, while focusing on dealing with it rather than either dwelling on the causes or regretting what might have been
- 2005 November 26, John E. Colbert, “Letter: The President We Have”, in The New York Times[1]:
- Similarly, it serves little purpose to lament the lack of a few more votes for Vice President Al Gore in 2000 or Senator John Kerry in 2004, or how those few more votes would have made the world a different place. We are where we are: We have President George W. Bush!
We can, however, pledge, from this day forward, to choose only leaders who are competent, experienced and battle tested.
- 2023 January 26, Eoin Ó Broin, “General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion”, in Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage[2], Dublin: Oireachtas:
- The legislation is much delayed and many of us were of the view that it would have been better had this been introduced in parallel with the offshore planning regime, but we are where we are and we will work with the timelines in front of us.
- 2024 December 11, Baroness Merron, “Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 — Question”, in House of Lords debates[3], UK Parliament:
- I do not want to look backwards, but I gently suggest that there are all sorts of reasons for delays. Still, we are where we are now, and what is important is moving ahead.
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see we, are, where, we, are.